Industry metals were slightly higher on Thursday as recent price fall created bargain buying opportunities for investors. Aluminum was the top-loser despite expectation for stable demand from Japan and recent drop in the stockpiles at LME.Copper rose by 0.63% on the increased dip buying and falling stocks at the main exchange warehouses. However, soft equities and weak China's imports capped
Precious metals were mixed on Thursday amid improved sentiment in the Euro Zone's market as Geek socialist party will make the final attempt to form the government.Gold managed to erase some of the previous losses as US Dollar lost its safe-haven appeal after positive news from Greece.Silver dropped as buying interest of the largest silver-backed fund is waning and industrial
Natural gas futures moved higher on Friday as speculators were bullish on the commodity and increased buying due to low price. Natural gas June contract traded at 2.521 US Dollars per Btu on the New York Mercantile Exchange, soaring by 1.39%.
The economy of the Euro Zone is likely to shrink by 0.3% this year and to expand by 1% in 2013, the European Commission reported. The commission also expects zero growth this year in the EU and a 1.3% expansion in 2013. However, the recovery of the region still remains fragile, said Olli Rehn, European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary
After three consecutive months of non negative changes, US producer price index decreased by 0.2% although no change was anticipated in April. According to specialists, this was mainly due to falling prices of core materials such as fuel, crude oil and intermediate goods. In past year index increased by 1.9% which is the smallest 12 month change in almost two and a half years.
In April unemployment in Canada was 7.3% in comparison to 7.2% in March this year. Employment rate was 58.2k, which was 48K more than anticipated and second consecutive month of significant changes in last half a year. Most of the change in employment was among full time positions, primarily in construction and manufacturing sectors. Employment increased by 5.5% in 55 year old
Nissan profits surged in Q1, being supported by strong sales in the fast-expanding markets. The company announced a net income of 75.3 billion Yens in Q1 as compared to 30.8 billion Yens in Q1 of 2011. The global sales of Nissan rose to a record high of 4.8 million vehicles in 2011.
India's factory production contracted by 3.5% last month as manufacturing activity in the country declined. The data lingered concerns that global stagnation and weak domestic demand may impact the overall growth of the country. Experts urged that the slowdown in manufacturing activity is likely to continue until the government puts more effort in boosting economic expansion.
The government of Spain is expected to report on the further bank reform later in the day. The government is likely to oblige the banks to increase reserves up to 30 billion Euros to improve the situation with rising number of bad loans. However, it is still uncertain whether the country sorts the problem by itself or requires additional monetary
The UK consumer confidence index declined more than initially expected in April, reported Nationwide. Nationwide index of consumer sentiment dropped to 44 in April on a seasonally adjusted basis as compared to 53 in March. Experts predicted the index to ease down to 52 in April. After the data release, the British pound moved lower against the common currency and
Sony shares approached 31-year low after the firm reported an annual loss of 5.7 billion US Dollars. The company's shares tumbled by 6.7%, approaching 1,132 Yen per share on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Sony that faced losses for the fourth consecutive year expects to return to gains in 2012. However, experts doubt that the company will manage to achieve the
The central bank of France announced that it expects no growth of the French economy in the first half of 2012. Moreover, BNP Paribas reported that slight contraction between 0.1 and 0.2% of the economy is expected in Q1. The country's economy expanded by 0.2% in Q4 of 2011. Moreover, France recently halved its GDP growth expectation for whole 2012
China's CPI slowed down in April, increasing hopes for more loosening monetary policy in the country. The CPI grew by 3.4% last month on an annual basis, slumping by 0.1% from the preceding month. At the same time, PPI slid by 0.7% last month on a yearly basis, declining slightly faster than a forecast of a 0.5% fall. Additional economic
Gold futures declined in Asian trading on Friday amid broadly stronger US Dollar. US Dollar Index, which monitors the greenback's performance again six main currencies, advanced by 0.15% to 80.40 US Dollars. COMEX gold June contract traded at 1,586.85 US Dollars per troy ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange, declining by 0.54%.
JPMorgan Chase announced unexpected trading loss of almost 2 billion US Dollars. The loss occurred because of complex investments of the bank's traders. Following the data release, JPMorgan shares lost 6% pushing shares of other banks down. Goldman Sachs, Bank of America and Citygroup faced severe losses in electronic trade.
The Bank of England left the key interest rate unchanged at 0.5% and continued to extend its bond purchasing scheme. The interest rates have remained at 0.5% for third year already. However, the bank started to be more concerned about accelerating inflation as CPI increased to 3.5% in March. Growing inflation and sluggish economic expansion put the bank in a
Crude oil prices lost a spree provided by positive labor data from the US and fell during the Asian trade on Friday amid solid US Dollar. US Dollar Index, which monitors the greenback's performance again six main currencies, advanced by 0.15% to 80.40 US Dollars. Light, sweet crude oil futures for delivery in June traded at 96.00 US Dollars per
China's factory production increased by 9.3% last month as compared to a March reading of 11.9% expansion, according to the national Bureau of Statistics. Experts predicted the factory output to rise by 12% in April on a yearly basis. Analysts claim that the slowdown was caused by weak domestic demand and difficulty in obtaining bank loans.
Although Japan's current account surplus sharply narrowed in March to $ 52.7 million, it was still larger than expected. However, economists believe the downward trend might persist, as energy imports are increasing, the particularly strong Yen is impacting the Japanese exports, and the European sovereign debt crisis is remaining in focus. That does not stimulate Japan's economic recovery, as the
On Friday the European Commission will publish its economic forecast for the Euro bloc member states, which is anticipated to reflect a further worsening of Europe's periphery economies with Spain being in focus, as the country does not meet the EU deficit target and combats the economic downturn. The European Commission outlook will show whether the member states will be able to
According to the US government report, the US trade gap widened 14.1 % to $51.8 billion from the previous month. However, the other data shows two factors that may foster the US economic upturn: increasing demand for the US exported goods and services from abroad, despite the European turmoil and slow growth in Asia, and decreasing oil prices.
After cutting expenses on education, Medicare and defense programs and increasing tax revenues US government announced budget surplus of USD 59.1b in April. It is the first budget surplus after Lehman Brothers collapsed in September 2008. Budget deficit was USD 40.4b same time last year and USD 198.2b a month ago.
After failed coalition formation negotiation led by Alerxis Tsipras, leader of Syriza, mandate was passed to former finance minister Evangelos Venizelos, leader of Pasok party. Negotiations failed after Pasok rejected Syriza's proposal to cancel commitments regarding aid packages to Greece's economy worth EUR 240b. According to some specialists political turmoil which lasts for four days now raised the risk that
Rural commodities were mixed on Wednesday amid the Euro Zone's turmoil and favorable weather conditions in the US.Wheat tumbled as speculation that the US inventories will be higher this season pushed the price down. Corn was the top-loser after news that corn price is expected to fall during 2012-2013 season to a range between 4 and 5 US Dollars per