After sliding 2.1% in the last month due to the weakening Chinese economy and the stubbornness of the Reserve Bank of Australia, the Aussie gained and pulled up from its lowest in seven months time. This was due to the positive PMI data from China, Australia's biggest trade partner. The Australian Dollar increased by 0.5% to 88.16 U.S. cents early
Data regarding China's manufacturing activity have revealed a better-than-expected turnout, reversing losses from August. The HSBC account of the Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) crossed the threshold of 50.2, its level in August, and came to 50.5. Generally, any reading above 50 is seen as a sign of an expansion. Despite this positive data, China's property price have been on the decline due to
In the line with the gains of the Pound, the Swiss Franc also showed some improvement. The Swiss National Bank decided to keep its floor of 1.20 francs a euro and gave word to defend the currency from any threats that may result in deflation. The SNB also kept its target for the interest rate range as the bank gathered
The Governor of the Bank of Japan Haruhiko Kuroda is not fazed by recent slides in the Yen. He stated that exchange rates reflect the changes in basic economic indicators, and that they are not static. What is unfavourable is the rate movement not in accordance with these economic fundamentals. Kuroda did not comment on his view on the severity
Gold managed to add a little on Friday, yet the outcomes of the Fed meeting kept the yellow metal grounded at its lowest in near nine months time. The Fed chosen semantics 'considerable time' as regards the interest rate hike didn't allow gold to gain its support as an alternative investment. Spot gold was able to increase to $1,227.80 per
The Pound gained the most in almost two years time as the Scottish attempt to claim independence in the vote failed. The Pound was stronger versus its 16 biggest trading peers, increasing by 0.6% to $1.6491 by midday in Tokyo, totalling to a two day climb of 1.3%. Versus the Euro, it added 0.5% to €1.2757, reaching the highest level
As the polls closed on late Thursday, the overall sentiment was proven right Friday morning; Scotland will remain a part of the U.K. with 55% of voters ticking the 'no' in the ballot. This means that Bank of England can receive some reprieve after weeks of uncertainty and volatility. The BoE can now focus on more pressing matters, like wage increases and the inflation
The Euro zone inflation rate fared better than expected, clocking in at 0.4%, overstepping Eurostat's forecast of 0.3%, which expected a drop from July's rate of 0.4%. This is definitely good news for Mario Draghi who has set out to keep the inflation around 2%, after announcing that ECB would carry out the purchase of asset backed securities while steering
The newest data released by the International Labour Organization revealed that the unemployment rate in the U.K. has fallen to 6.2%, dropping from 6.4%, surpassing the economists' forecasts of 6.3%. While this points towards the strengthening of the British economy, the wages are trailing behind, with just 0.7% pay raise. BoE's governor Mark Carney predicted that the wages are set to improve with the continued growth of the economy.
As China announced its 500 billion yuan stimulus for its five biggest banks, metals increased for the second day in a row. Nickel picked up by 1.5%, its highest in almost two week, and sold at $18,377 per ton. Copper edged up 1%, and copper for December delivery added 0.4% to $6,930.50 per metric ton early morning in Tokyo, however,
The Pound increased as the Bank of England is set to release its Monetary Policy Meeting minutes on Wednesday. The August minutes revealed that two members of the committee voted in favour of increasing borrowing costs, the first split in option under Carney's governance. The Pound inched up 0.1% to 79.53 pence per euro early morning in London, adding to
Wednesday's Federal Reserve meeting may shed light on the increase of interest rates, although the Fed's current plans do not foresee a significant change in the policy until the mid-2015. The FOMC, which sets the policy, may change the timeline for near-zero interest rates, which would be a momentous development after six years of deadlock. Nevertheless, the climb in unemployment rate to 6.1% in
The People's Bank of China, China's central bank, decided to add to liquidity in midst of the dormant growth by flooding 500 billion yuan, or $81 billion into the largest banks of the country. The central bank is concerned with the timid growth, thus enacting a quantitative-easing- like policy. The money is to be divided amongst the five biggest banks,
Brent crude fluctuated around the $98 mark on Tuesday, extending its gains after receiving some reprieve from its lowest in two years. The dormant manufacturing performance in the U.S. and China has discouraged from growth in demand, not allowing Brent prices to break though. Brent for November delivery was up by 3 U.S. cents to $97.91 per barrel, while October
Many European stocks lost, sliding to their lowest in two weeks time, as investors hold off to await the results of the latest FOMC meeting. Orange SA lost 1.3% and the Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell back 0.3% to 342.98 early morning in London. In addition, investors are expecting the ZEW report on investor confidence. It seems that the sentiment
On Tuesday, gold increased its small gains as investors weighed in on the Federal Reserve policy meeting, yet they remained very tentative in their bets, waiting for more than speculations. If the Fed makes a move for a interest rate hike, the demand for gold as an alternative investment would only fall. Spot gold edged up 0.3% to $1,236.14 per ounce early morning, touching at
The Australian Dollar might be headed for the 85 U.S. cent mark, thus not releasing Australia from its reliance on resource industries. The currency could drop to 85 U.S. cents in the next six months. The Aussie was on the market for 90.44 U.S. cents midday, with the total decline of 3.2% this month. The RBA's benchmark interest rate of
As the Federal Reserve is gearing up for its policy meeting this week, Asian shares slid to their lowest in 10 weeks time. The MSCI index for shares outside of Japan lost 0.6% and slid to its lowest in three months. Japan's Nikkei broke its winning streak of five sessions and closed down 0.2%. The speculations on U.S. interest rate
The Australian Dollar slid its lowest level in six months time to $0.9060 on Friday, before levelling off at $0.9068, and losing 0.3% during the day. The loss came just as the U.S. Federal Reserve is getting ready for its policy meeting. If the Fed takes a hawkish stance, the Aussie is expected to edge back up to 90 cents. The Kiwi
British equities are not faring well in the light of the vote for Scottish independence which is to take place on September 18. The volatility expectations advanced to the levels of November 2008, causing The FTSE 100 Volatility Index to gain 19% in four days time, increasing twice as much as its Euro zone equivalent VStoxx Index, which added 7.4%. The jump came just as nationalists gained more support in a recent
Federal budget gap in the United States declined to $128.7 billion in August of this year, comparing with $147.9 billion a year ago. During the October-August period of the current financial year, the negative balance shrank 22%, as revenues continued to increase amid economic recovery. They added 7.7% on the annual basis, while spending rose less than 1%.
It is expected that U.S. retail sales for the month of August will have improved in comparison to July's data. The data are to be released 12:30pm GMT on Friday, hopefully alleviating the attention from the jobs report which revealed that only 142,000 jobs were added in August. Current projections show that retail sales will have increased by 0.6%. If
Gold continues its fall of seven months, sinking to the lowest since mid-January. The yellow metal has been on the decline ever since speculations about the U.S. increasing borrowing costs began; lessening gold's appeal as an investment. Bullion for delivery slid 0.7% to $1,232.33 per ounce, before settling at $1,236.53 midday in Singapore. The price for gold may decrease further if the
The Dollar added to its biggest gain against its most-traded peers since November just as the Federal Reserve is planning to meet next week. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index increased by 0.1% by midday in Tokyo causing the Yen to slide to a near six-year low versus the Dollar. The Greenback has been on the tear for the last month