On Wednesday, prices for gold reached a six-and-a-half-month high, following the BOJ's announcement about its fresh monetary stimulus. Spot quotes for gold did not change significantly and were traded at USD1,772.49 per ounce at 10:16 a.m. London time, while December delivery futures gained USD4.00 per ounce to trade at USD1,775.20.
On Wednesday, copper prices climbed to the level which was the highest since May 1 on Japan's central bank announcement of fresh round of monetary stimulus. On the NYMEX, December delivery futures for copper were traded at $3.812 per pound, which was a 0.65% for the European morning trading session. Earlier, copper hit $3.838, which was the highest since May 1.
On Wednesday, European stocks rose, halting a two-day fall, on BOJ's announcement that it will expand its asset-purchasing program. The Stoxx 600 climbed 0.3% to 274.71 at 1:52 p.m. London time, which was a 17% gain during the rally started on June 4. Porsche SE jumped 7.7%, which was the biggest gain in the Stoxx Europe 600 Index.
On Wednesday, the greenback was broadly higher versus its major counterparts, as Spanish financial worries supported the demand for safe haven. EUR/USD went down by 0.38%, reaching the level or 1.2996. GBP/USD fell to 1.6202, which was a 0.26% loss. USD/CHF climbed 0.18%, being traded at 0.9302. USD/CAD inched up 0.07% and was traded at 0.9748.
On Wednesday, prices for oil hit a 6-week low on Spanish financial worries, trimming earlier gains on Japan's central bank monetary stimulus. November delivery futures for Brent eased $0.80 to trade at $111.23 per barrel at 10:50 a.m. London time. Contracts for October delivery of U.S. crude lost $0.41 and were traded at $94.88 per barrel.
U.S. housing starts rose less than expected in August, while applications for home mortgages declined, adding to concerns over the U.S. property market, the U.S. Census Bureau said on Wednesday. Construction on new U.S. homes rose 2.3% to 750,000, up from 733,000 in the prior month, below expectations for a 2.85% increase to 765,000. Building permits issued in July declined to 0.803 million units, from
Hopes the Bank of England will announce new economic stimulus plan above the existing program with a total value of 375 billion pounds ($610 billion) have been raised after minutes of the monetary policy committee's meeting on Wednesday. The BoE also expects the inflation rate to decelerate less rapidly, as oil and food prices rose.
Economic expectations in Switzerland deteriorated in September, a survey by the European Economic Research (ZEW) and Credit Suisse showed Wednesday. The ZEW index that measures expectations of futures economic performance fell by 1.6 points to -34.9, down from -33.3 in the prior month. A reading above 0.0 indicates optimism, while a reading below indicates pessimism.
The outlook for the Chinese real estate development sector stayed negative despite some advance in the last six month amid improving liquidity and an increase in sales volumes, S&P said on Wednesday. Property prices in China rose in 35 out of 70 cities in August, an increase was due to interest rate cuts by the People's Bank of China.
Japan's leading economic indicator tumbled for a fourth straight month in July, Cabinet Office said on Wednesday. The leading index dropped to 93 from 94.1 in June. Both July's and June's readings were upwardly revised from 92.8 and 94.1 respectively. Meanwhile, the lagging index slipped to 86.7 in July from 86.8 in the preceding month.
Rural commodities apart from coffee plunged on Tuesday amid stronger US Dollar and favorable weather conditions in the world top growing regions. Moreover, recent rally in prices encouraged producers to sell more supplies, sending farm commodities lower. Wheat sank as planting of the US winter-wheat crop accelerated due to dry weather. Adding pressure on the commodity, Australia is likely to witness
On Wednesday, the BOJ eased monetary policy through supporting its asset buying program, as weakening exports and outcome from a territorial conflict with China showed that prospects of a short-term recovery in Japan's economy faded. The Yen dropped to a month low, bonds advanced and Nikkei stock average reached a four-month high amid the decision of a bigger-than-forecast stimulus.
Energy commodities tumbled on Tuesday on global growth fears and weakening manufacturing activity in the US. The New York manufacturing activity dropped unexpectedly this month, attaining three-year low. Moreover, solid greenback added pressure on the commodity group. Crude oil plunged as uncertainty over Spain's bailout and contracting manufacturing activity in the US pressurized the commodity price. Brent oil retreated on tensions between
Foreign Direct Investment in China tumbled in August mainly because of lower inflows from crisis-trapped European Union. FDI dropped 1.4% on year in August to $8.3 billion, the Ministry of Commerce said on Tuesday. During first 9 month of the year, China attracted $75 billion in FDI, down by 3.4%. Meanwhile, outbound investment climbed around 39% to $47.7 billion.
Base metals were mixed on Tuesday amid broadly stronger US Dollar and profit-taking after US stimulus-fueled rally. Meanwhile, weak state of the US manufacturing activity continued to push industrial metals lower. Aluminum prolonged its slump as financial instability in Eurozone continued to weight on market sentiment. Copper swung from losses to gains on positive US current account data. However, softening manufacturing activity
Precious metals were mixed on Tuesday, with gold and silver rebounding and palladium and platinum tumbling. Strong US Dollar, profit taking and fading boost from the US stimulus measures all created heavy selling pressure on the commodity group. Gold advanced despite appreciation in US Dollar amid upbeat current account data. Meanwhile, traders locked in profits after previous rally of the yellow
Australia's leading economic indicator extended advance in July, while its rate of rise stayed lower than its long-term trend signing that the economy is unlikely to outperform trend in the foreseen future. The annualized increase of the leading index was 2.2%, lower than the long-term trend of 2.7%, Westpac reported on Wednesday. Meanwhile, annualized expansion rate of coincident index was
New Zealand' current account posted a shortfall of NZ$1.797 billion in Q2 of the year, Statistics New Zealand reported on Wednesday. Economists had forecast a deficit of NZ$1.620 billion, while the upwardly revised deficit for the first quarter was at NZ$1.072. Significant expansion of the shortfall was due to increase in earnings of foreign-owned banks in New Zealand.
German shares are trading in the negative territory on Tuesday despite positive news from Eurozone. On Tuesday, Spain sold the targeted amount of debt with lower borrowing costs. Moreover, German ZEW economic sentiment index advanced more-than-expected in August. The German DAX Index slumped 0.70% to trade at 7,351.78. Only three sectors included in the index rose. The top-performers were consumer
UK stocks are trading lower on Tuesday after Spanish debt sale. Spain sold EUR4.6 billion of bills, slightly above the target. The borrowing costs declined and Spain's 10-year bonds increased for the first time in four days even despite uncertainty whether the country will seek a new bailout. Meanwhile, UK CPI rose in August to annualized 2.5%, being in line
Hong Kong stocks declined on Tuesday on China's dispute with Japan over Senkaku/Diaoyu islands. The largest China's cities witnessed protests that turned to violence directed against Japanese businesses. Moreover, weakness of the commodity markets weighted down on the Hong Kong blue chips index. The Hang Seng Index lost 0.27% to close at 20,601.93. Only two business sectors included in the
Japanese shares dropped on Tuesday amid escalated tensions over a group of islands recently purchased by Japan from China. Several large Japanese companies suspended operations in China because of protests that turned to violence in some China's cities. Japan's companies with high exposure to China created heavy pressure on the Japanese stock index. The Nikkei 225 Index edged lower by
The U.S. current account deficit narrowed to $117.4 billion in the second quarter of 2012, $133.6 billion in the first quarter, the Commerce Department reported on Tuesday. Analysts had predicted U.S. current account balance to fall to -125.5B last month. The decline may be, mostly, explained by the fall in oil prices and a larger surplus in income payments.
Farm commodities except for sugar followed downward trend on Monday as US harvesting accelerated due to favorable weather conditions. Meanwhile, recent surge in sugar and coffee prices motivated producers to sell inventories. Wheat slumped the most since January on accelerated US planting. USDA reported that winter-wheat crop was 11% planted compared 4% in the preceding week. Corn tumbled as dry weather