Gold rose after a two-day fall in London amid belief the Euro-debt crisis and additional BoE stimulus will fuel demand for wealth-protection. On Tuesday, bullion for immediate delivery gained 0.1% to $1,664.95 per ounce in London. Futures for December delivery traded 0.5% down at $1.667.20 in New York. Silver added 0.4%, while platinum lost 1.2% and palladium slid 1.1%.
The Aussie continued a four-day decline versus the Yen as private data posted the South Pacific nation's new house sales tumbled for the first time in four months. On Tuesday, the Aussie was at $1.0365, after touching $1.0345, the least since July 26. It dropped 0.3% to 81.29 Yen. The Kiwi slid 0.1% to 80.76 U.S. cents and 0.4% to
The Pound depreciated versus the Euro for the first time in three days on belief declining real estate prices will drive the U.K. economy deeper into the crisis, adding signs the BoE will purchase more assets to boost growth. The Pound fell 0.4% to 74.96 pence per Euro, after reaching 79.55 pence, the least since Aug. 7. The Sterling dropped
Farm commodities apart from coffee edged down on Monday on signs that US export demand is slowing. Better crop conditions in Brazil and India also weighted down on the agricultural commodities. Wheat was lower as US export growth is slowing as Russia sells wheat below the US prices inflated by recent drought. Corn was the worst-performer as US harvesting started to accelerate
Energy commodities except for heating oil dropped on Monday amid concerns that global banks may refrain from easing measures. Adding to the negative mood of the commodity group, concerns that tropical storm Isaac will damage oil production started to ease. Crude oil sank on speculation that storm Isaac will damage oil production in the Gulf of Mexico less than initially expected. Brent
Industrial metals were higher over the last week on upbeat US data releases and persistent speculation that global central banks will loosen their monetary policies. However, solid greenback restricted the gains of the base metals. Aluminum rose on positive headlines from the US. Successful debt auctions in Spain and Italy also spurred the light metal's price. Copper balanced between an increase in
Precious metals moved lower on Monday amid broadly stronger US Dollar and mixed global equities. Moreover, speculation that US consumer confidence data due on Tuesday will beat expectations weighted down on the commodity group. Gold dropped as hopes for QE3 in the US started to fade amid strong US data releases. Weak physical demand from India in view of poor crops
Asian stocks declined, as Japan cut its economic assessment and as investors expect signs of monetary policy direction from the Fed. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.6% to 119.14, approaching the lowest close since August 6. Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average dropped 0.6% and South Korea's Kospi lost 0.3%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slid 0.2%, while both China's
The U.S. Dollar and Japanese Yen advanced versus most of counterparts as Japan downgraded its economic outlook and German data is expected to indicate consumer sentiment deterioration, adding to concern growth of global output is weakening. The Yen rose 0.4% to 98.03 per common currency and gained 0.3% to 78.52 per greenback. The U.S. Dollar climbed 0.1% to $1.2485 per
Thomas Jordan, President of the Swiss National Bank, said that countercyclical capital buffer might be activated to stem development in real-estate and mortgage markets in 2013. According to the June Financial Stability Report, the mortgage market poses a risk to creditors. Home loans have risen by as much as 300 billion Francs ($313 billion) in 10 years and increased 5.2%
The Japanese government cut its outlook for the world's third-biggest economy, as some economists expect that GDP will fall this quarter. The government downgraded the economic assessment on home-building, personal consumption, imports, exports and industrial production. During the next meeting of the Bank of Japan, which is scheduled on September 18 and 19, monetary policy will be reviewed.
According to the Housing Industry Association, Australian new-home sales declined 5.6% to 5,682 in July, adding to signs the central bank's interest rate cuts did not stabilize the housing market as expected. Sales of detached houses fell 5.5% to the lowest since 2000 and sales of apartments fell 6.4%.
Oil declines on belief Tropical Storm Isaac will cause less damage to oil production than first forecast. October-delivery oil dropped 1% to $35.19 per barrel after Isaac was downgraded to a Category 1 hurricane, the weakest on scale. October-settlement Brent oil fell 0.8% to $112.71 per barrel.
U.K. house price index tumbled 0.1% on monthly basis in August, according to a real estate tracking website Hometrack. Th reading matched both economists' forecast and the rate of decrease from the preceding month. Prices in London posted no change. On year-on-year basis, Britain's property prices declined 0.5%.
U.S. stock futures increased, following the first weekly fall of benchmark indexes in almost two months, after Apple Inc. surged amid a $1 billion jury's decision and investors awaited signs on further Fed stimulus. Apple climbed 2.3% to $681.94. S&P 500 Index futures due in September gained 0.3% to 1,414. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 0.1% to 13,167. Nasdaq-100
On Monday, August 27, natural gas futures dropped to a seven-week low, as the U.S. National Hurricane Center downgraded Tropical Storm Isaac to a Category 1 hurricane. Natural gas futures with October contract tumbled 1.1% to $2.707 a million British thermal units. In the meanwhile, meteorologists predict that Isaac will spur short-term shutdowns of 85 per cent of the U.S. offshore oil production capacity and
The Federal Reserve may start another round of quantitative easing or launch a bond-buying program soon, while new moves from the Fed are in question. Meanwhile, the Fed has already bought $2.3 trillion of long-term securities, in order to push nation's borrowing costs down and boost the economic recovery. Minutes released by the Fed on August 22 point at a higher possibility of a next
Treasury prices advanced for the sixth day in seven on Monday, while no important economic data is expected and trading volumes remain low. The benchmark 10-year note rate fell by 2 basis points to 1.67 per cent, and the yields on five-year notes dropped 2 basis points to 0.70 per cent. In the meanwhile, Ben Bernanke's speech is scheduled on Friday, August 31.
On Monday, August 27, European stocks edged higher, as shares of telecommunications equipment makers and banks rose. The German DAX 30 Index gained 0.9 per cent to 7,031.48; the French CAC 40 Index jumped 0.6 per cent to 3,453.12, while the Spanish IBEX 35 Index soared 0.78 per cent to 7,367.30.
Canadian housing affordability fell in the second quarter, as home prices and mortgage rates rose modestly. The cost of owning a home edged up to 43.4 per cent for a detached bungalow, to 49.4 per cent for a two-story home, while the measure for condos remained unchanged at 28.8 per cent, showed by the RBC Housing Affordability index on Monday, August 27. A reading of
Swedish retail sales advanced more than estimated in July. A report made by Statistics Sweden today indicated consumers are continuing to support economic growth, with retail sales rising 0.3 per cent over the month and by 2.4 per cent over the year. Analysts had predicted a 1.7 per cent increase y/y or 0.2 per cent m/m.
Import prices in Europe's biggest economy rose by 0.7% in July, after a 1.5% drop registered in the previous month. Export prices jumped 1.4% in July, measured on a year-on-year basis, while import prices rose by 1.2% in the same month over a year. The results met analysts' expectations.
U.K. mortgage bonds are at the highest level since 2008 as purchasers brush off the impact of a slowdown in the economy and look for top-rated substitutes for benchmark government notes. Investors demand 95 basis points more than the rate on five-year notes supported by prime U.K. mortgages, offered by the Euro interbank. That's the first time in 4.5 years
European stock futures climbed after Germany's Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble reported Germany and France will create a union to enhance Eurozone's fiscal and monetary union. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index advanced 0.3% to 268.77, after declining 0.2% earlier.