Italy's costs of borrowing advanced at six-month sovereign bond auction on Wednesday. Investors were cautious head of the EU summit due to start on Thursday. Italy sold the targeted amount of 9.00 million Euros of six-month bonds with average yield of 2.957% as compared to 2.104% at auction conducted in December 2011. Meanwhile, 10-year bond yield fell from 6.18% to
China's economy is likely to expand at faster annual rate than 7.5% expected in the first half of the year; however, the downside risk still persists. Experts surveyed by Reuters predicted China's GDP to grow by 7.9% in the first half of 2012 and full year expansion to achieve 8.2%. The growth pace is in compliance with government's target but
Gold prices declined during European trade on Wednesday as investors are cautious ahead of The EU summit due to start on Thursday. Traders doubt that the summit will result in closer fiscal integration that may enable the EU to resolve deepening crisis in the area. COMEX gold futures for delivery in August traded at 1,570.95 US Dollars per troy ounce,
Crude oil declined in European morning session on Wednesday as traders are cautious ahead of the EU summit and US supply data. The EIA report is expected to indicate a 0.5 million barrels decline in crude oil inventories last week. Light, sweet crude oil futures for August delivery traded at 79.20 US Dollars per barrel on the New York Mercantile
Span cannot sustain high borrowing costs at long run, said Mariano Rojoy, Spain's PM. Recently, yields on 10-year sovereign bonds soared to 6.8%, the level considered to be unaffordable. Mariano Rajoy claimed that a subject of financing is of paramount importance as country has applied for funds but has not been bailed out yet.
Japanese PM Yoshihiko Noda may harm country's economic growth by allowing to implement higher sales tax. The drop in consumption is very likely even though tax increase will help to tackle nation's debt burden. The lower house of Japanese parliament yesterday approved a motion to lift sales tax from current 5% to 8% and then to 10%. Analysts warn the tax
The trade balance of New Zealand narrowed in May, reported Statistics New Zealand. The country's trade surplus dropped to 301 million New Zealand Dollars on a seasonally adjusted basis as compared to 355 million New Zealand Dollars in April. After the data release, the New Zealand Dollar depreciated against its US counterpart by 0.21%, with NZD/USD trading at 0.7890.
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average retreated from three day losses on Wednesday lifted by improvement signs in US property markets and renewed speculations for China's stimulus. Nikkei 225 index gained 0.77% or 66.50 points and finished at 8,730.49. Japan Tobacco rallied 3.7% on speculation the higher sales tax may give the cigarette maker an opportunity to raise prices. Retailers also contributed
Hang Seng Index led the gains during Asian trade on Wednesday though it spent morning session into red area. Analysts explained the advance in Hong Kong markets with investor willingness to buy shares cheaply ahead of Chinese macroeconomic indicators few weeks ahead. More traders start to anticipate nation's soft landing, analysts claimed. Hang Seng index gained 0.80% or 152.81 points
Dow Jones Industrial Average rebounded on Tuesday lifted by report which showed US home prices climbed 1.3% in April, the first gain since autumn 2012. Blue chip soared 0.26% or 32.01 points and settled 12,534.67. On the upside energy shares recovered from previous slump with Chevron Corp adding 1.9% and Exxon Mobil gaining 1.4%. On the downside Kraft foods slipped
Canadian currency appreciated from two-week record low against its US counterpart after equity markets rebounded and demand for higher yielding assets slightly climbed. Loonie strenghtened 0.5% versus greenback to CAD 1.0238 on Toronto session. Currently USD/CAD is trading at 1.0244.
The British Pound reached the strongest value against common currency this month on expectations EU summit this week will not bring any measures to stop Eurozone debt crisis. The Pound climbed 0.5% versus Euro to GBP 0.7992 and added 0.1% against US Dollar to USD 1.5594. Currently EUR/GBP is trading at 0.7993.
US stocks appreciated on Tuesday supported by data which showed US home prices added 1.3% in April, the first gain since autumn 2012. S&P 500 surged 0.48% or 6.27 points and closed at 1,319.99. Dow Jones Industrial Average soared 0.26% or 32.01 points to 12,534.67 and Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.63% or 17.90 points settling at 2,854.06.
The President of ECB Mario Draghi might consider lowering its deposit rate to from 0.25% to zero or even lower as the region is moving deeper into recession. Federal Reserve resisted cutting its interest rate of 0.25% last year. Julian Callow at Barclays Capital suggests that cutting deposit rate to zero is likely to be the first move of ECB
US home prices surged 1.3% in April and posted the first monthly advance since autumn 2011. S&P/Case-Shiller index that encompasses 20 US cities added 1.3% with 19 cities out of 20 reporting gains. Home values declined only in Detroit. On yearly basis index has deteriorated from 2.6% to 1.9%.
The US customer confidence fell for a fourth month in a row in June as anxiety over labour market and income weighed on consumer sentiment. The sentiment gauge measured by Conference Board declined to 62.0 compared to a downward revised reading of 64.4 in May. The median estimate obtained in Bloomberg survey was 63.0.
German DAX index moved higher in the first half of session on Tuesday as German confidence data for July unexpectedly improved. Gains however were limited amid Cyprus request for bailout and Spanish debt auction. BMW AG tumbled 3% after Citigroup Inc. lowered its recommendation on the world's largest producer of luxury cars. Other car maker Daimler AG shed 1.9%. One
UK FTSE 100 faced choppy session on Tuesday as data showed Britain's budget deficit widened more than expected in May on lower tax revenue and elevated government spending. Royal Bank of Scotland was among main decliners and gave up 4.4% as technical issues over past few days left millions of lender's clients without access to money. Miners and energy producers
South Korea will halt imports of oil from Iran starting from July 1 in compliance with EU insurance ban on ships transporting the commodity. The ban is a part of strategies undertaken by the US and EU to lower Iranian oil exports. The country cannot import oil without insurance granted by the EU companies hence South Korea is the first
Spain faced rising borrowing costs at Tuesday's auction where the country was selling three and six-month sovereign bonds. Spain sold 1.6 billion Euros of bonds with maturity in three months with average yield of 2.362% as compared to a yield of 0.846% at auction in May. Meanwhile, the country also sold 1.48 billion Euros of six-month bonds with average yield
Rural commodities were bullish on Monday as weather in the US, Russia and Ukraine remains dry and hot while rains in Brazil continue to harm crops.Wheat rocketed by almost 8% over the day after the EU lowered harvest yields by 0.4% this year, citing dry weather in Spain.Corn soared amid adverse weather conditions in top-growing regions in the US. Hot
Energy commodities, excluding crude oil, appreciated on Monday as tropical storm Debby in the Gulf of Mexico is likely to disrupt production.Crude oil dropped on demand concerns after Spain and Cyprus applied for bailouts on Monday. Moreover, high output levels from OPEC remove supply risk premium created by tensions in the Middle East. Brent oil advanced as oil companies shut down
Industry metals except for nickel rose on Monday after positive real estate data release from the US. However, persistent worries over financial health of the Eurozone limited the gains.Aluminum regained strength on signs of US property market recovery. Moreover, recent slump in production may support the light metal due to potential shortage in the market.Copper price was spurred by better
Precious metals apart from palladium advanced on Monday despite weaker global equities and stronger US Dollar. Gold gained almost 0.8% as safe-haven appeal returned after Moody's downgraded 28 out of 33 Spanish banks. Silver rallied on safe-haven support after Cyprus asked for a bailout shortly after Spain submitted official request for financial aid.Platinum gained momentum as platinum production is likely