Philadelphia's manufacturing activity shank in May after eight consecutive months of expansion. Philly Fed manufacturing index lost 14.3 points, approaching 5.8 this month as compared to April's figure of 8.5, reported the Fed. Experts predicted the index to gain 1.5 points to 10.0 this month. The data lingers concerns over speed of economic recovery in the US.
German 10-year bond yields dropped to the record low while Spain's borrowing costs jumped. German yields increased 7 basis points, to 1.44% at noon in London, after declining to 1.433%, the lowest level on record. 1.75% bond maturing June 2022 price increased 0.3% and reached EUR 102.920. German two-year note yield decreased by 1 basis point to 0.06% after reaching record low level at
Bloomberg consumer comfort index in the U.S. dropped by 3.2 to the record low -43.6 in the week from May 6th to 13th. This was the fourth consecutive weekly decline in the index as the level of around -40 is associated with recession in economy. All components of the index fell as well. Personal finance dropped from -11.2 to -12.9 and reached
The currency ICE index, which indicates dollar's relation to major six peers, on Thursday experienced a decrease in value by 0.103 points - from 81.359 to 81.256 - in Asian trading market just after celebrating its longest period of increments in two decades. The Greenback index had been recovering during thirteen continious sessions straight on till this Wednesday evening, when
The U.S. dollar gained 0.24 percent versus a basket of 6 currencies since late Wednesday, and Dollar Index reached 81.62. The movement is attributed to ongoing political deadlock in Greece and high yields on Spanish bonds auctioned on May 17. Dollar strengthens for a 14th day in a row which is the longest positive streak since 1985.
Rural commodities rose on Wednesday as dry weather in the US and growing China's demand lifted the commodity pack.Wheat was the top-performer as dry weather in the US persists and is likely to curb the crops.Corn advanced by almost 4% as dry weather in the US may impact the harvest while China's demand remains strong. Recently, China bought 900,000 MT
Energy markets balanced on Wednesday between Greek political uncertainty and lower than expected increase in US inventories.Crude oil ended the day on the negative note, being pressured by stronger US Dollar. However, rising industrial production in the US restricted the downswing.Brent oil was the top-loser amid high risk-aversion among investors caused by endless turmoil in the Euro Zone. Moreover, looming
Industry metals were mixed on Wednesday after the ECB reported that it will cease financing of some Greek banks.Aluminum was the top-performer as the metal received support from recent output cut of Tajikistan's Aluminum.Copper went down on lingering Euro Zone's concerns. However, China's copper production fell by 3.7% last month whereas cancelled warrants stayed weak, limiting the losses.Nickel continued to
Precious metals dived on Wednesday amid stronger US Dollar and persistent turmoil in the Euro Zone.Gold was only marginally lower as it managed to pare previous losses after release of the Fed minutes. Fed hinted that the US economy may need more monetary stimulus to boost growth.Silver declined on weakness of the global equities after the ECB stopped financing of
Canadian Dollar, commonly known as loonie, depreciated for four consecutive days as specialists speculate on Greece's ability to remain in the Euro zone while Spain's borrowing costs surged during sovereign debt auction. The currency declined 0.2% to CAD 1.0142 per USD at 8:30 a.m. and touched the weakest, CAD 1.0157 per USD, level in four months.
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission may suggest easing Dodd-Frank Act regulations on speculation in commodities like oil, natural gas and other. The commissioners are thinking on a vote on how companies accumulate their trading positions when they have stakes in other companies. The commission is considering raising threshold from 10 to 50%. the current 10% threshold was approved in October 2011.
The Fed considers the possibility of another monetary easing in the U.S., in case legislators fail to agree on the budget or Europe debt situation deteriorates. Ben S. Bernanke stressed that fiscal policies expiration at the end of 2012 may knock the economy back into recession. Although U.S. economy lately shows strong fundamentals, downside risks are potentially large and might cause the loss of the
Jobless claims in the U.S. didn't live up to the expectations that the reading will decrease by 5K and remained unchanged instead, at 370K level, in the week from 6th to 12th of May. Amount of people on rolling unemployment claims increased by around 18K while the number of people on prolonged payments decreased by around 45K. 31 out of 52
The common currency has lost 3.9 percent in May, almost reaching its record low of $1.2624 that it hit in mid-January. Today the euro gained 0.1 percent against the U.S. dollar and was traded at $1.2718. This positive movement is overshadowed by the news on ECB temporarily stopping loans to some Greek banks.
Home sales in Beijing rose sharply since the beginning of May as number of transactions more than doubled on yearly basis, according to China Daily. The Chinese bought above 7,000 apartments in the period between 1st and 15th of May, indicating year-to-year increase of 103%, reported Century 21. The major stimulating factor was price reductions offered by property developers.
As Greece exit from the single currency area seems to be more realistic scenario than ever, investors fear that it will have a contagious effect on other fiscally problematic nations. Amid these sentiments, Spanish government borrowing costs soared to 4.375% for January 2015 bond, up from 2.890% on April 4, when the previous auction took place. July 2015 average bond yield came in at
On Tuesday at least 4 out of 33 underwriters of No. 1 social network, namely TD Ameritrade, Fidelity's brokerage arm, E*Trade Financial and Morgan Stanley & Co, stopped taking new orders of Facebook. Wells Fargo Advisors did the same on Wednesday. Since the demand for the shares is huge, Morgan Stanley informed its advisers that each client will be able to receive at most 500 shares.
The PPI in New Zealand increased more than expected in Q1 of 2012, according to official data. The PPI of the country gained 0.3% in Q1 on a seasonally adjusted basis as compared to an increase of 0.5% in Q4 of 2011, reported Statistics New Zealand. Experts predicted the PPI to stay unchanged in Q1. Following the data release, the
For the first time President of the European Central Bank Mario Draghi acknowledged the possibility of Greece exiting the euro area, making it clear that balance sheet's integrity is the top priority for ECB despite their strong commitment to keep the currency area together. Following this announcement, ECB will temporary stop issuing loans to some Greek banks until they finalise recapitalisation. As soon as it
Asian stocks were mostly higher on Thursday after positive GDP data from Japan. Moreover, recent sell-off created dip buying opportunities for investors. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index added 0.5% whereas Shanghai Composite Index climbed by 0.7%. Meanwhile, Korean Kospi and Japan's Nikkei Stock Average gained 0.4% and 0.1%, respectively.
Gold prices advanced in Asian trade on Thursday after Fed hinted on more accommodative policies as US economy needs additional monetary stimulus to boost growth. COMEX gold June Contract traded at 1,546.75 US Dollars per troy ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange, gaining 0.66% since opening.
The borrowing costs of Spain may rise during bond auction on Thursday as Greece's political uncertainty added to risk of further downturn in the region. The interest rate on four-year debt may surge to 5% as compared to 4% at the last auction. The PM of Spain said that borrowing costs may even grow to 'astronomical' level amid turmoil in
Mario Draghi, the ECB President, insisted on Greece to stay in the Euro bloc during his public speech on Wednesday regarding the possibility of Greece withdrawal from the Eurozone. Nevertheless, according to him, the ECB will stick to its anti-inflation mandate. The ECB President's comments came after Irish and Belgian central banks reported that Greek exit would not be disastrous
Japanese machinery orders both in manufacturing and non-manufacturing declined in March, decreasing 2.8 % from February. Despite the drop in March, the orders in the Q1 still increased 0.9 % from the preceding quarter and are expected to gain 2.5 % during April-June period. The governments believe that machinery orders are on a steadily growing trend.