U.S. homebuilder confidence increased more than expected in May and reached the highest level since mid 2007. Index rose to 29, exceeding median estimation by 3 and highest estimation by 2 points. Future expectation index increased by 4, to 34. Geographically index increased in 3 out of 4 regions. The single decrease was registered in western part of the U.S.;
After five consecutive months of improvement ZEW Economic Sentiment for 6-month economic outlook for the Eurozone plummets by 15.5 points and enters a negative zone at -2.4. Investors and analysts' expectations of German economy's health are still positive, but aren't so optimistic any more sliding down from 23.4 to 10.8 points.
Agricultural commodities eased up on Monday as weather conditions in the US deteriorated. However, concerns over Greek political deadlock restricted gains.Wheat advanced on speculation that dry weather in Kansas may curb crops. Moreover, low wheat prices are likely to attract more buyers in future.Corn was unchanged as commodity balanced on improved Asian demand and expected ample supplies due to record
Energy markets continued to slump on Monday along with worries about slowdown in China's economy and turmoil in the Euro Zone.Crude oil dropped as China's and Euro Zone's industrial production data missed forecasts. Meanwhile, increased risk-aversion in the light of the Euro Zone's political instability also pushed crude oil down.Brent oil followed crude oil's suit and declined by 0.62% as
Industry metals moved down on Monday after China cut its RRR, signaling that the country's economy needs additional stimulus to expand. Weaker than expected Euro Zone's industry data also weighed on the commodity pack.Aluminum lost almost 1%, being pressured by global financial instability. However, the downswing was limited as Tajikistan's Aluminum reported a 11.6% fall in output.Copper attained four-month low
Precious metals extended previous losses on Monday as uncertainty over Greece's exit from the single currency union continued to lend support to the greenback.Gold approached more than four-month low amid fears that Euro Zone's recession will not be as mild as anticipated. Moreover, US Dollar Index gained 0.45% on Greek woes thus weighting on the yellow metal.Silver was the top-loser
China's currency weakened for the fifth consecutive session, singling that the country' government makes attempts to revive stagnating export sector. During over-the-counter trade on Tuesday the US Dollar appreciated to 6.3231 Yuan as compared to Monday's level of 6.3215 Yuan. Experts said that China is likely to continue to depreciate its currency to boost exports in view of global economic
China's FDI declined by annualized 2.4% in the period from January to April. China's obtained 37.9 million US Dollars in FDI in the period from January to April 2012 as compared to 38.8 billion US Dollars in 2011. April's FDI approached 8.4 billion US Dollars while in April 2011 the overseas investments hit 8.5 billion US Dollars. The negative trend
Crude oil prices tumbled during Asian trade on Tuesday, approaching five-month low as worries that Greece may exit the single currency union increased concerns about weaker demand for energy. Light, sweet crude oil futures for June delivery traded at 94.28 US Dollars per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, falling by 0.53% from the last session's high of 94.36
Asian shares declined as Greece's political uncertainty dampened risk sentiment among investors. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index lost 1.2% whereas South Korea's Kospi declined by 1.4%. Meanwhile, Greece's leaders meet on Tuesday in an attempt to form strong coalition. Experts claim that in case Greece does not repay its debts, the country is likely to leave the Euro Zone that will
Gold futures dropped in Asian hours on Tuesday as political instability in Greece continued to lend support for the US Dollar. COMEX gold for delivery in June traded at 1,557.25 US Dollars per troy ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange, declining by 0.24%. Meanwhile, COMEX silver July contract attained 28.173 US Dollars per troy ounce, tumbling by 0.63%.
Japan's consumer confidence was little changed last month, indicating that the country's economic recovery is stable, reported Cabinet Office. Its sentiment index that tracks opinion on jobs and income eased down to 40.0 last month as compared to 40.3 in the preceding month. However, consumers still are not confident in robust economic growth as reading below 50.0 indicates pessimism.
Mood's has lowered the credit rating of 26 Italian banks, citing that the county's financial sector is becoming more vulnerable to crisis and impacts of the budget reductions. The largest Italian banks as Unicredit and Intesa Sanpaolo were also downgraded from A2 to A3. Ten banks were downgraded to junk status. All banks were put on negative watch, implying that
Portugal is taking drastic measures in order to meet its bailout requirements, but the initiatives do not ensure the country's presence on markets next year, the Bank of Portugal reported on Monday. The central bank acknowledged that the government significantly consolidated the budget last year, bringing the budget deficit to 4.2 % of GDP. Portugal is determined to meet a deficit target of 4.5
The Eurostat data revealed that the Eurozone industrial production declined more-than-expected in March, meaning that Europe's economy contracted last quarter and entered a recession. Industrial output dropped 0.3% in March and by 2.2 % on the year. The EU's statistical office will publish the data of Q1 GDP on Tuesday. Economists are expecting a 0.2% quarterly drop.
The increasing concerns over Greece's withdrawal from the Eurozone hit the markets. The European stocks tumbled sharply, the Euro depreciated against the US Dollar to its lowest level in four months, whereas Spain's and Italy's borrowing costs skyrocketed. Apparently, the ECB's injection of €1 trillion into the banking system does not provide the desired result.
Gold for June delivery reached the lowest level this year in Commodity exchange division of New York Mercantile Exchange. By 2:45 p.m., New York time, June delivery futures lost USD 22.4 (1.4%) from the opening value and were at USD 1562 an ounce. At its lowest, at 10 a.m., contracts were worth USD 1555 an ounce.
Industrial production decreased by 0.3% in the Euro Zone and by 0.4% in the European union in March. In last 12 months industrial production decreased by 2.2% in the Euro zone and by 1.9% in the European union. Among the European union member countries the largest decline was in Luxembourg, Greece and Spain (11.3%, 8.5%, 7.5% respectively). The largest increase was registered in Slovakia,
Dow Jones Industrial Average index fell by 123.17 points, to 12,697.43, the lowest level in 2012. Citigroup, Bank of America, ConocoPhillips and Dow Chemical dropped at least 1.2%. Symantec, one of worlds largest software companies, retired more than 2% of its value. Chesapeake Energy jumped by 9.3% after reaching an agreement on USD 3b loan. Avon Products gained 4.1% after Coty Inc boosted its takeover bid to
Italy and Spain on Monday had bond auctions where they both experienced increase in borrowing costs. Italy distributed the maximum of planned EUR 5.25b amount of bonds maturing March 2015 and paid 3.91% on these bonds, slightly more than in the previous auction a month ago. Spain distributed EUR 2.9b of short term bonds and borrowing costs premium over German short term
Agricultural commodities slumped on Friday as impact of the recent USDA report still dominated the market sentiment.Wheat dropped by 0.34% as US output is likely to be higher than initially estimated due to favorable weather conditions in South Great Plants. Moreover, global grain consumption is expected to post a 1% decline this year.Corn extended previous losses after USDA reported that
Energy markets slid on Friday amid resumed debt worries in the Euro Zone after elections in Greece and France. Moreover, signs of slowdown in China lingered demand concerns.Crude oil posted the second weekly loss as sluggish growth of the industrial production in China outweighed positive consumer confidence data from the US.Brent oil continued to move lower along with political and
Industry metals dived on Friday after China reported slower than expected expansion of industrial production. China's industrial output rose by 9.3% in April as compared to an expected increase of 12.1%.Aluminum declined by 0.02% after United Co. Rusal posted a 84% fall in earnings in Q1 as prices for the light metal slumped.Copper was the top-loser, moving closer to psychologically
Precious metals moved down on Friday as turmoil in the Euro Zone and signs of economic slowdown in China dented safe-haven appeal of the commodity pack. Gold drifted lower as positive economic data releases from the US faded hopes for new round of quantitative easing from the Fed. Meanwhile, demand from India remained weak after recent changes in import duties.Silver