Russia is expected to stick to its current benchmark interest rate after unexpected cut in December which, stimulated consumer demand and created conditions for accelerating inflation. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg predict the Russian central bank will keep its refinancing rate at 8% while overnight repurchase rate may stay at 5.25% and overnight deposit rate is likely to be untouched at
Swiss National Bank's (SNB) interim executive Thomas Jordan has to deal with appreciating Swiss national currency which is perceived as safe asset amid Greek debt uncertainty. The Franc has been climbing against Euro as Greek debt swap talks endured. It touched CHF 1.2032 against Euro on February 1, the highest reading since September 19. Currently EUR/CHF is trading at CHF 1.2055.
New Zealand and Australian Dollar depreciated on Friday as Greek debt concerns renewed, curbing demand for riskier assets. Australian currency lost 0.2% to USD 1.0691 and declined to JPY 81.47. Meanwhile New Zealand Dollar also weakened 0.2% against greenback, reaching USD 0.8315 and gave up 0.3% against Japanese currency to JPY 63.36. Currently AUD/USD is trading at USD 1.0696 while NZD/USD
The services activities soared in January after three month fall, reported the Australian Industry Group. Australian PSI advanced by 0.29 points to 51.6 in January on a seasonally adjusted basis. The strongest growth was registered in cafes and restaurants, finance and insurance, accommodation and recreational services.
Royal Dutch Shell announced it plans to invest more to boost production. The company reported it would invest 30 billion US Dollars into the new gas and oil projects in 2012 as compared to 24 billion US Dollars invested in 2011. The move came after the company announced the annual rise in net income by 50% to 28 billion US
China's miner, Zijin, announced it expects about 20% increase in profit for 2011 due to constantly growing gold price. The company estimated its annual profits as 5.8 billion Yuan for 2011 as compared to 4.8 billion Yuan in the preceding year. Gold price jumped more than 30% in August before declining at the end of 2011.
Burma announced it owes about 11 billion US Dollars of foreign debt that is much more than previously estimated. The foreign minister of the country reported that Burma has started negotiations with several institutions and countries. Burma owes about 6.4 billion US Dollars to Japan, the rest of the loans are owed to Germany, the World Bank and the Asian
Natural gas futures soared after IEA report indicated much larger fall in the inventories than initially projected. The natural gas stockpiles fell by 132 billion cubic feet last week after declining by 192 billion cubic feet in the preceding week. Natural gas March contract traded at USD 2.553 per million British thermal units at the late US trade on Thursday,
The economy of the UK is expected to fall into crisis in the first half of 2012 as households continued to reduce spending, said a person familiar with the matter. The government has to ease its prudent policies to boost growth, claims Niesr. The UK economy is likely to contract by 0.1% this year but expend by 2.3% in the
The employment in US probably expanded in January as nation's firms are gaining confidence in US recovery despite European debt troubles. Analysts questioned by Bloomberg predict the payrolls to climb by 140 000 compared to 200 000 increase in December. Hiring rate and wage increase are needed to provide consumer spending which make up 70% of total economy.
Rural commodities showed mixed performance on Wednesday, with grain commodities continuing to grow and coffee and corn continuing to fall. Wheat was the top gainer over the day, advancing 11.24%. Wheat was supported by the growing speculation that Russia plans to cut its exports. Moreover, unfavorable weather conditions in Ukraine that may curb crop pushed the wheat price higher. Meanwhile,
Energy commodities, excluding Brent oil, tumbled on Wednesday after the EIA report indicated higher than expected oil stockpiles in the US. However, strong PMI data releases from the US, the EU and China limited the losses. Crude oil may gain support on the fresh developments over Iranian nuclear programme as the US officials consider imposing striker sanctions against Iran's oil
Base metals rallied on Wednesday amid strong manufacturing data from the US, the EU and China. Industry metals also found additional support on the weaker Euro. However, stockpiling of aluminum at the LME warehouses limited the gains for the metal. Copper and nickel may gather momentum on the expected supply disruptions as workers of BHP Billion may continue the strike
Precious metals advanced on Wednesday amid broadly weaker US Dollar on the positive economic data from the Euro Zone. Gold jumped by 0.33, approaching two-month high of USD 1743.53 per troy ounce. The yellow metals also continued to draw support from the Fed's decision to keep low interest rates until mid-2014. Other precious metals followed the gold's suit and rallied
German DAX 30 index slightly appreciated on Thursday, lifted by Deutsche Boerse as European Union prohibited its planned USD10bn merger with NYSE Euronext, claiming the deal would violate fair rivalry principles as other exchange operators would not be able to compete. Deutsche Boerse jumped 3.7% on the announcement. On the downside Deutsche Bank plunged 2% after lender reported 76% drop
FTSE 100 Index fluctuated between gains and losses on Thursday amid Xstrata merger rumors and Unilever's plunge. Xstrata jumped 10% and Glencore rallied 6% on news about possible merge between both commodity firms. The gains were offset by Unilever PLC which posted small increase in its profit and gave cautious forecasts for 2012. AstraZeneca PLC and Royal Dutch Shell PLC
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average climbed on Thursday along with other Asian share indices as investor sentiment was lifted by positive manufacturing statistics from US and Europe. Nikkei 225 surged 0.76% or 67.03 points and finished at 8,876.82 Car makers supported the index with Honda Motors jumping 3.3% after unexpectedly reporting gains in US market. Nomura Holdings jumped 7.1% after publishing
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rallied on Thursday fuelled by financial and commodity shares amid improvement in global manufacturing data. Hang Seng Index added 2% or 406.08 points and settled at 20,739.45. Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd. jumped 3.8%, oil giant Cnooc Ltd. surged 4.1%, while HSBC Holdings PLC gained 3.2%. Clothing retailer Esprit Holdings partly recovered from yesterday's drop
17 nation currency slipped against US Dollar on Thursday as Greeks kept struggling over debt swap agreement and Spanish borrowing costs surged after nation's bond auction. Euro lost 0.5% against Japanese currency to JPY 99.80 and edged down 0.4% against US Dollar to USD 1.3108. Currently EUR/JPY is trading at JPY 99.76 and EUR/USD is trading at USD 1.3106.
Asian share markets gained on Thursday, supported by European and US manufacturing data. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index and Shanghai Composite Index each added 2.0%, and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index surged 1%. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average gained 0.8%, while South Korea's Kospi climbed 1.3%.
Dow Jones Industrial Average Index surged on the first February trading session, lifted by worldwide optimism about manufacturing and US employment market. The blue chip index advanced 0.66% or 83.55 points and finished at 12,716.46, supported by industrial and financial shares. Bank of America lead the gains, climbing 3.2%, followed by Hewlett Packard, adding 2.8%. On the downside McDonalds posted
S&P 500 Index rose on Wednesday, supported by expansion in US, Chinese and European manufacturing amid progress in Greek debt talks. The index added 0.89% or 11.68 points and closed at 1,324.09 with all 10 sectors posting gains. Whirlpool jumped 13.5% after reporting better than predicted quarterly profit and claiming it expects shipments to North America increase by 3% this
Building approvals in Australia tumbled in December, reported the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The building approvals declined by 1% on a seasonally adjusted basis in December while experts predicted a 2.1% rise. Considering yearly changes, the building approvals shrank by 24.4% in December.
Chinese copper imports are expected to fall in the next months amid buildup of copper's inventories and lack of arbitrage opportunities. Bloomberg survey indicated that copper inventories at the Shanghai warehouses increased by 300,000 tons over the last month. Currently, LME copper traded at USD 8,5000 per ton, reflecting almost 15% fall from its record high of USD 10,000 per