On Thursday, the oil prices dropped amid Yemen's revived bombing, stronger Greenback, and higher-than-expected crude inventory in the US. The WTI futures slipped 0.59% to $55.83 a barrel, when Brent futures edged lower 0.66% to $62.32 a barrel. Meanwhile, crude inventories added 5.3 million barrels last week, beating the estimate of 2.5 million barrels.
The UK retail sales dropped -0.5%, failing to meet expectations of a 0.4% growth in March, amid the fall in fuel sales of 6.2%. Elsewhere, the BOE's MPC members agreed on present refinancing rate of 0.5% and unanimously settled on the QE amount of 375 billion pounds. Meanwhile, the Sterling weakened against the Greenback and after the data release was
French PMI for services and manufacturing sectors dipped to 50.2 in March, down from 51.5 month ago. Services sector sank to 50.8 compared to 52.4 in February, while the measure of manufacturing activity dropped from 48.8 to 48.4. Despite low oil costs and the QE programme, country's economy remains weak. Meanwhile, France's economy expanded 0.1% in Q4 2014.
The Franc has appreciated 17% against the Euro since the SNB abandoned the currency cap on January 15. Meanwhile, Swiss GDP shrank 0.1% during Q1 and may drop additional 0.2% in Q2, which will be the first recession since the financial crisis in 2008/2009. Accordingly, Switzerland keeps struggling with declining output as a result of diminishing exports.
In 2014, there were the least registrations of companies in Switzerland in the last 10 years. This is deemed to be the result of implementation of laws aimed to curb the level of immigration and of a review of corporate tax breaks. The number of foreign companies operating in Switzerland diminished by 8%. This may lead to a slower economic
Stock market in China expanded the most in almost three months on advance in nuclear and consumer-staples industries. The Shanghai Composite Index rose 2.7%, reaching a seven year high of 4,194.82, while the Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index increased 1.7%. The share prices of consumer staples, industrial companies and energy producers grew by more than 3%.
Australia's unemployment rate dropped to 6.1%, since the economy added a surprisingly strong number of jobs. At the same time, an unexpected plunge in jobless rate stimulated a jump of the Australian Dollar, on hopes that the Reserve Bank of Australia's effort to support the local economy with low interest rates is bearing fruits.
European auto sales increased at the fastest pace in one year and a half, since the improving economy stimulated demand for the Volkswagen AG and Renault SA cars. According to the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association, the number of registered cars rose 11% compared to the previous year. Meanwhile, Volkswagen AG orders increased by 10% in March, while Renault, in turn,
The stocks of famous British–Dutch consumer goods company, Unilever, announced an unexpectedly high first quarter sales growth, pushing the company's shares to a record heights. Current revenue climbed 2.8%, compared to the median estimate of 2.1%. Meanwhile, Unilever shares advanced as much as 5.2% to trade at 3,087 pence in London, showing the most impressive growth in almost three years.
The MSCI Emerging Markets Index moves towards a seven month high due to strong US energy stocks and a possible delay of the US interest rate hike. PetroChina Co. and Cnooc Ltd. added 3.4% in Hong Kong, since crude oil soared 5.8% in New York on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the Shanghai Composite Index also posted a seven year's record on
The US retail sales grew for the first time since last year in March, reinforcing the view that a sharp economic growth slowdown in the Q1 was temporal. The total value of sales expanded by 0.9% after a 0.5% decline a month earlier, reported the Commerce Department on Tuesday. This is the strongest advance since March 2014.
Global stocks markets dropped on Tuesday amid investors' concerns about the possible impact of the strengthening Greenback on US company earnings. The FTSEurofirst 300 Index edged down 0.2% to 1,643.42. At the same time, the investors remain worried about Greece's debt crisis that drew the attention away from a potential merger between Nokia and Alcatel-Lucent.
Asian stocks keep advancing after the strongest weekly gain since October, being that a rise in energy sector offset a drop in utilities. Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd. inched up to the highest level in seven years, Inpex Corp. jumped 1.6% and SoftBank Corporation added 2%. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index traded in a tight range at 152.37 at
The Nasdaq Composite Index rose, with Netflix Inc. at the head of the Internet companies. Meanwhile, developing-market shares are about to post a record number of days in green in 10 years. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 0.5% to 5,022.08 as of 12:13 p.m. New York time, while Netflix gained 5.7%. However, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index treads water
European stocks advanced the for a fifth day, while Spanish shares reached their strongest level since January 2010. The Stoxx 600 Index rose 0.2% to 413.63 at the end of the London trading session, after adding 0.3% earlier. The IBEX 35 Index rallied 1%, which is one of the largest changes within the western-European countries.
Brent oil surged to near $59 a barrel on April 13 amid the drop in the number of drilling rigs in the US that balanced the fall in Chinese import of oil. Brent oil futures added 93 cents to $58.80 a barrel, while the US crude inched higher $1.10 to $52.54 a barrel. Analysts claimed that oil prices were fluctuating
Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Wednesday that the Japanese economy has considerably improved compared to the previous year, when the Central Bank was forced to inject record monetary stimulus. Meanwhile, eight board members of the BoJ voted in favour of continuation of the current measures except one, Takahide Kiuchi, a general opponent of Kuroda's easing programme.
Germany's factory orders decreased unexpectedly in February, adding concerns that the European economy is still far from a recovery. Factory orders for February dropped 0.9% on a monthly basis, defying economists' expectations for a 1.5% gain. Meanwhile, in January the orders posted a 2.6% fall, which was revised from a 3.9% decrease.
Swiss consumer prices diminished in March at the fastest annual rate since 2012 due to low import prices caused by the Franc's rise against the Euro, after the central bank's decision to abandon the exchange rate cap. Consumer prices plunged 0.9%, while prices on domestic goods, in turn, added 0.3%.
In February, the German unemployment rate reached the all-time low of 6.4%. This, together with the falling oil prices and growing salaries, is positively affecting the overall spending, and after the launch of the QE programme Germans became more lavish. Such a low jobless rate and soaring consumption in the Euro zone's powerhouse stimulate the region's recovery, while other member
European stocks dropped, erasing their weekly rally, since shares of car-makers and miners fell. The Stoxx 600 lost 0.2% to 397.68 as of 10:31 a.m. London time, trimming the weekly gain of 0.5%. Still, the equity gauge has already advanced 16% in 2015 amid optimism that the ECB's EQ programme will spur the region' economic growth and the depreciating Euro
Stock market in China reached a seven-year peak due to an unexpected increase in the production level after the Spring Festival holiday. As a result, the Shanghai composite index advanced 1.7% to trade at the 3,810.29 level, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index climbed 1.6%.
Asian currencies advanced during the week, led by the South Korea's Won and Malaysian Ringgit, amid speculation the Fed may raise the interest rate later than expected. The Ringgit appreciated 1.8% during the five days against the Greenback, while the South Korea's Won added 1.6% at 11:15 a.m. Hong Kong time.
Oil erased its largest weekly gain since investors are weighting the possibility of interruption in supply versus record US inventories. West Texas Intermediate crude futures for delivery in May dropped $1.18 to $50.25 a barrel during the New York Mercantile Exchange electronic trading. The contract climbed $2.22 to $51.43 on Thursday.