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.
The job availability in Japan reached its peak in 22 years last month following the growth in companies' confidence about hiring. The job-to-applicants ratio jumped to 1.10 in June from 1.09 in May. The unemployment rate unexpectedly grew to 3.7% in June from 3.5% in the previous month. The officials expect the economic recovery to continue in the third quarter without additional measures from the BoJ.
Argentine bonds went down for a monthly low as the country rejects talks with its creditors, which may cause Argentina to default on its payments again since 2001. 10-year bonds fell 2.23% to 81.99 U.S. cents, the lowest since June 20. Yields went up 0.36 percentage points to 10.77%.
UBS AG, the largest bank in Switzerland, announced a 15% increase in profit for the second quarter of this year, beating analysts' expectations. Net revenue picked up to 792 million francs versus 690 million francs in Q2 2013. During the last year, costs of the bank were decreased by 2.1 billion francs. Today, UBS AG shares are dropping 0.8% to
The Greenback reached the weakest level in two weeks against the Euro reflecting the failure of the U.S. economy to rebound in the second quarter to the extent the investors projected. The Dollar depreciated 0.1% to $1.3440 per Euro, the bottom line since July 14th. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index remained little changed at 1,014.17 from the end of the previous week.
Although Australian home sales in June rose by 1.2%, the Aussie remained steady versus the Dollar as the upcoming US events keep supporting the greenback. The pair hit 0.9390 during the Asian session and proceeded to consolidate at 0.9399. The data revealed that home sales climbed 1.2% after a 4.3% decrease in May.
During the Asian session, the greenback climbed to its highest price in three weeks against the Yen, sustained by strength in the Nikkei index. The US Dollar rose against both the Euro and the Yen, trading at 1.3432 and 101.98 respectively. However, traders were hesitant as the forthcoming major events are expected to have a high impact.
Asian stocks were up for the day and sent the benchmark of the regional index to its highest in six years. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose by 0.3% and the HSI reached its highest levels since November 2010. As there are holidays in South-East Asian countries and India the markets there were closed and there were no new developments in those regions.
Contrary to expectations of a 0.5% climb in pending home sales, the number of new contracts signed by homebuyers turned out to be disappointing, as the data revealed a 1.1% drop. On a year-on-year basis, pending home sales dropped by 4.5%. Limited access to credit and the slower growth of wages are restraining potential homebuyers, causing the housing recovery to
Analysts had forecast a drop in flash services PMI to 59.8. However, the release revealed that the activity in the services sector did not change, remaining at 61.0. On the other hand, analysts had forecast the non-manufacturing sector to remain unchanged, though the data turned out as a reduction from 56.3 to 56.0. The final release for services PMI is
This week there will be more than forty eight hours of powerful data releases in the United States. Starting on Wednesday, data concerning the GDP for the second quarter of the year is due to be published, as well as a statement from the FOMC. On Thursday the most relevant event should be Unemployment Claims. Adding to this, high impact
The Aussie held steady against the Greenback in light trade today, as strong U.S. long-lived commodities data kept on supporting the demand for the U.S. Dollar. The Australian Dollar reached a one-week low, sliding down to 0.9385 U.S. Afterwards the pair consolidated at 0.9390. The Commerce Department announced 0.7% growth in orders of durable goods as compared to the projections of 0.5%.
The Cable is close to its lowest price in one month and remains stable. Concerns regarding the conflict in Gaza and tension in Ukraine along with positive US data on Friday persist to support the US Dollar. This morning, the Sterling hit 1.6985 against the greenback and proceeded to consolidate at 1.6979.