Sweden's Krona dropped after the report concluded the largest Scandinavian economy grew less than anticipated last quarter. As a result the Krona depreciated 0.5% against the Euro falling to 9.2378. The Krona also dropped 0.6% against the Greenback today. The GDP climbed 0.2% in the second quarter, while overall the economy gained an annual 1.9% as compared to estimated 2.4%.
Asian stocks went up for a fourth consecutive day as the U.S. and EU strengthened sanctions on Russia and before the Fed updates monetary policy on the markets. The MSCI Asia Pacific increased 0.3% to 149.8, while South Korea's Kospi Index went up 1%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index advanced 0.4% and Japan's Topix Index closed 0.1% higher.
After the release of Switzerland's KOF report the greenback rose near to its highest value in five months against the Swiss Franc. The data revealed that the KOF index dropped to 98.1 for the month of July, therefore being substandard to the 100.5 forecast. The pair climbed to 0.9079, its highest price since February, and proceeded to consolidate at 0.9075.
Russia's currency strengthened for the first time after decreasing for five successive days, due to traders considering US and EU sanctions milder than expected. However, the EU will announce more sanctions today for another three organizations and eight people. The Ruble advanced 0.5% against both the Euro and the Dollar, trading at 47.7590 and 35.6245 correspondingly.
The Aussie depreciated against its U.S. peer on Wednesday, following investors' anticipation of the Fed's monthly policy statement today and upcoming U.S. figures. AUD/USD reached 0.9374 during the early session, but dropped 0.13% consolidating at 0.9372. The pair is expected to find the support at 0.9338 but face the resistance at 0.9424.
François Hollande, the President of France, earlier this year implemented a law that caps rents in expensive neighbourhoods. In order to protect homebuyers, the law also increased the quantity of documents that have to be provided by sellers. This led to a drop in housing starts and permits during the second quarter of 19% and 13% respectively. Although the damage
The Spanish economy expanded in the second quarter at the strongest pace since 2007. According to the first estimate, gross domestic product rose by 0.6% during the period from April to June, representing its fastest pace ever since the last quarter of 2007. On a year-on-year basis, the Spanish economy grew 1.2%, up from the first quarter's 0.5% rise.
Japanese industrial production slipped the most since the March 2011 earthquake, stressing the impact of the April's sales-tax increase on the country's economy. The industrial output fell 3.3% in June as compared to May. Overall the economy has presumably slipped 5.2% in the April-June period and is expected to gain 2.4% this quarter.
With the Pound losing its spot as the most bullish bet among the top ten currencies it has declined to 1.6944 against the Dollar from a six-year high of 1.7192. With the positive news from the UK economy already included in the price it seems that the top may have already been reached. In the past year the Sterling has
WTI was near its weakest price in the last two weeks before released government data, which may signal weakened oil demand in the U.S. The nation's stockpiles have increased for three consecutive weeks to 217.9 million barrels, creating speculation on the decreased demand. September futures were traded at $101.11 per barrel, up 14 cents, but they went down 70 cents
Shares declined on Tuesday as negative outlook for companies such as UPS and FedEx caused the US indexes to end the day lower. UPS lost 3.7% and FedEx fell 1.6% due to disappointing earnings reports. One of the few positives was Twitter, which leaped 14.5% as its revenue doubled. Overall, the DJI declined 0.41% and the S&P 500 fell 0.45%.
The Greenback almost reached its peak in nearly two months against major counterparts amid the outlook jobs numbers are going to introduce stronger economic growth, impelling the Fed to further subside stimulus today. The Dollar traded at $1.3411 per Euro after reaching $1.3409 yesterday. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index did not change much gaining 0.3% to 1,016.71.
The EU and U.S. made additional sanctions on Russia's economy by targeting energy, banking and defense industries in order to get Putin to back off on Ukraine. EU governments agreed on restricting export of equipment and barring state-owned banks from selling bonds or shares in Europe. The IMF forecast that Russia's economy will expand by 0.2% from the previous 1.3%.
New Zealand's overvalued currency may experience further declines after the RBNZ warned the Kiwi's level is "unjustified". The Reserve Bank of New Zealand lifted the official cash rate by 0.25% to 3.5% in July, the fourth raise since January. The Kiwi reached its strongest level since August 2011 in July this year. The New Zealand's currency, however, fell to 85.03 U.S. cents today, the lowest in
During July consumer confidence climbed to 90.9 surpassing expectations from analysts, who had forecast a rise to 85.5 from 85.2 in the previous month. The data released by the Conference Board suggests that consumers in the US are feeling more enthusiastic about the economy. The index is a survey of around 5000 households which asks respondents to rate present and
The S&P/Case-Shiller Composite-20, which measures the change in the selling price of homes in twenty metropolitan areas, climbed at its weakest pace in thirteen months. It had been forecast to rise by 10%. However, it was reported to have only grown by 9.3%. After the release, the Dollar rose versus the Euro to 1.3417.
The Ruble depreciated for a fourth consecutive day as Russia did not conduct its second debt auction and EU discusses further sanctions on the country. The nation's currency declined 0.3% to 35.6425 per dollar, creating a 4.9% overall loss during this month. The Ruble also went down 0.4% versus the Euro to 47.9050.
US and European leaders in a move to put more pressure on Russia have extended their sanctions to its financial, defence and energy sectors. The plane crash in eastern Ukraine has largely led to the much tougher sanctions as the Russian government still has not changed its stance in this conflict. At the same time the Ukrainian forces are making headway against the rebels.
UK stocks rose after a two-day decline with GKN Plc and Next Plc leading the way as their earning reports were better than expected. GKN leaped 6.9% due to a higher pre-tax profit and Next went up 2.5% after a positive forecast adjustment. Overall, the FTSE 100 added 18.66 points and rose to 6,806.73 in London.
Gold rose over the $1,300 an ounce mark before the Fed's two-day meeting amid tensions in Ukraine and Gaza. Immediate delivery rose 0.3% to 1,308.06 an ounce and reached $1,312.27, the highest price since July 22. Geopolitical tensions should not boost demand significantly for the safe haven as market participants are waiting for the outcome of the meeting.
South Korea's Won grew as exporters converted their overseas gains and the BoK reported current year's second-largest account-surplus. The Won appreciated 0.2% to 1,024.50 per dollar. Overseas sales and shipments from abroad are expected to rise in July from the previous year. The exports likely grew around 3.8%, whereas the imports climbed 1.5%.
U.S. economic growth gained in momentum in the second quarter of the year after the fall in the beginning of the year and is expected to rise through the rest of the fiscal year. GDP increased at 3% annual rate, according to the Reuters survey, caused by both consumer expenditure and stock retaining by businesses. The growth for the year as a whole is projected to
Retail sales in Japan fell more than expected in June, pressuring Shinzo Abe to create a heavier taxation on consumers in order to reflate the economy. Sales declined 0.6% from the previous year, opposed to the forecast of 0.5%. In the second quarter, sales went down 7% from the last three months.
The Texas light sweet declined for the second day in a row as supply data looms near. With the data possibly signalling changes in the US fuel demand the September WTI futures fell 36 cents and were trading at $101.31 a barrel on the NYMEX. Meanwhile, the Brent for the same month delivery only lost one cent and was at $107.56 a barrel.