Gold futures declined from the highest level on bets that the Fed will scale back their bond-buying programme this week, decreasing demand for the yellow metal. Bullion futures for April delivery slid 0.2% to $1,262.10 an ounce as of 10:23 a.m. New York time, after the price approached $1,280.10, while silver futures for March delivery added 0.4% to $19.835 an
The Japanese Yen dropped as demand for the safe haven assets ebbed on better than forecasted data from Caterpillar Inc. and as Germany's business confidence grew to the highest level in two and a half years. The Yen slid 0.4% to 102.76 Yen per Dollar as of 9:43 a.m. in New York, while the Euro strengthened 0.3% to 140.37 Yen
The British currency reached the highest level in two and a half years against the greenback ahead of tomorrow's growth data that are expected to show the first annual advance for nation's economy. The Sterling added 0.6% to $1.6585 at 2:49 p.m. in London, after gaining to $1.6668 on January 24, the strongest in more than two years. The Pound
One of the main rating agencies Moody's decided to cut the credit rating of Sony Corp. to the Ba1 level, which is one level below the investment grade of Baa3. At the same time, the outlook remained stable. Moody's pointed on the problems in PC and TV units of the company, which still bring losses. Today, Sony Corp. shares dropped
As the European Central Bank tries to keep monetary policy dovish and fights for low borrowing costs for households and companies, rising overnight market rates pose dilemma for the regulator. While market rates have already climbed above the main ECB rate, Mario Draghi said that it is still not the time to cut stimulus. Moreover, the ECB is ready to
Economic growth in the United Kingdom probably remained almost unchanged from the trend seen during last several quarters, as the GDP could add 0.7% in the October-December quarter. At the same time, the Bank of England said it will not hurry in cutting stimulus in order to give the economy some extra opportunities to gain strength, hoping for an increase
Natural gas traded in New York advanced on Monday rising for the fifth straight session and was set to record its strongest close in nearly four years as demand for heating oil rises due to arctic cold weather in the U.S. Natural gas for settlement in February surged 5% to $5.442 a million British thermal units on the NYMEX and
Gold declined on Monday trading session falling from the highest level in a two-month period on speculation that the recent rally of the precious metal was too rapid and as the U.S. Federal Reserve may cut its stimulus on this week's policy meeting. Bullion for January delivery dropped 0.2% to $1,268.14 an ounce as of 4:15 p.m. Singapore time.
European shares declined on Monday trading session after falling by the most in two days since June amid concerns that the global economy is recovering slower than expected as emerging markets contract. The benchmark index Stoxx Europe 600 slipped 0.5% to 323.02 as of 8:13 a.m. London time after it sank 3.4% in the previous two session last week.
China's shares decreased on Monday trading session with the local benchmark index dropped as Hong Kong equities led the decline towards the lowest level in five months on speculation that companies' earnings may be affected by an economic slowdown in the region. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index fell 2.2% to 9,792.58 and the Shanghai Composite Index lost 1% to
The British Sterling increased on Monday snapping its two-day declined against its European counterpart before a government report showed that the United Kingdom economy slowed down in the last quarter of 2013. The Pound added 0.1% to 82.94 pence a Euro by 7:35 a.m. in London following a fall by 1.5% in the previous two sessions.
The European benchmark Brent crude declined on Monday after a report released by the Energy Information Administration showed that distillate fuels inventories in the U.S. dropped last week by 3.2 million barrels. Brent for March delivery lost as much as 33 cents to $107.55 per barrel on the London's ICE Futures Europe exchange.
West Texas Intermediate crude advanced on Monday trading session and was set to increase its last week's gain after weather forecast showed that the arctic cold weather in the U.S. may boost demand for heating oil. WTI for settlement in March rose 20 cents to $96.84 per barrel on the NYMEX as of 3:58 p.m. Singapore time.
Business confidence in Finland declined in January falling for the second successive month mainly due to a notable drop in manufacturing contracting from December's -9 to -12 in the following month, the Confederation of the country's Industries EK showed in a report on Monday. The Finnish construction sector also slipped from -14 to -29 in January.
South Korea's consumer confidence accelerated in January and it improved from the month before, the latest survey revealed by the Bank of Korea showed on Monday. According to the survey, the South Korean consumer sentiment index advanced from 107.0 recorded in December to a level of 109.0 in the first month of 2014.
New Zealand's business activity in service sector accelerated in the last month of 2013 and increased on a sequential basis on the month, a report published by the Business New Zealand unveiled on Monday. The country's purchasing managers' index advanced from November's 56.4 to a level of 57.5 in the following month, recording the 8th straight month of expansion.
Japan merchandise trade balance came in a deficit in the last month of 2013 recording its seventeenth successive posted deficit, a report published by the Ministry of Finance showed on Monday. According to the report, the country's merchandise trade deficit stood at 1,302.11 billion yen on the month, while it was forecast to record 1,280.0 billion yen.
This Friday the Eurostat will publish the fresh data on the unemployment in the Eurozone, as experts predict no changes in the jobless rate of 12.1% or 19 million people. At the same time, some analysts explain that the official data excludes people, who are not registered as unemployed, but still are searching for a job. Therefore, the real number
Business confidence in Germany increased more than forecasted in January of this year, reaching the largest level in more than two years. The benchmark Ifo Index, which measures the sentiment of 7,000 German companies in all the main sectors of the economy, surged to 110.6 points versus 109.5 in December. Analysts expected the index to improve to 110 points in
International service outsourcing in China aggregated last year $62.34 billion, according to a report published by the Commercial and Trade Services Department on Monday, making it a 42.2% advanced from the previous year. The country's international service outsourcing contents contracts from the U.S. totaling $11.75, $7.14 from the EU, $5.18 billion from Japan and $5.4 billion from Hong Kong.
The U.S. Federal Reserve is widely expected to shrink its monthly bond purchases known as quantitative easing on this week's policy meeting responding to an improvement in the country's economic conditions, however fueling sell-offs in emerging markets. The Fed's meeting is taking place between January 28-29 and it is forecast to result in stimulus cut by $10 billion a month.
The U.S. Dollar declined on Monday falling towards the weakest level in seven weeks against the Japanese Yen after a sell-off on emerging markets continued before the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy meeting this week and as China's economic slow-down may continue as credit conditions tightened. The Greenback slipped to 101.77 yen, the least since December, and it last traded at
Asian equities swung between gains and losses on Monday trading session with emerging-market shares falling before this week's policy meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve possibly resulting in further cuts of its stimulus program and as China's credit conditions tightened. The MSCI broadest Asia-Pacific Index outside Japan dropped 1.5% to the weakest level in more than four months.
U.K. shares dropped, with the regional benchmark FTSE 100 Index set for its biggest one-week fall in a month. The FTSE 100 Index slid 0.7% to 6,724.24 as of 11:02 a.m. London time, and is set for 1.5% retreat weekly, after two straight weeks of gains. The FTSE All-Share Index declined 0.8%, while Ireland's ISEQ Index slipped 0.8% today.