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
Energy markets were mostly higher on Wednesday as news that Greece will receive the latest bailout package eased worries about crisis in the region.Crude oil was the only loser as US inventories continued to stockpile. Moreover, increasing oil supplies from the OPEC continued to create additional pressure on the crude oil's price.Brent oil was marginally higher as demand concerns slightly
Industry metals followed bearish trend on Wednesday along with slowing China's demand and uncertainty over the Euro Zone's debt crisis.Aluminum declined amid fresh elections worries in the Euro Zone; however, improving spot activity may support the metal in the following sessions.Copper attained three-week low, sliding under 8,000 US Dollars per ton as risk-appetite among investors was dented by turmoil in
Precious metals tumbled on Wednesday amid lingering concerns over political and economic crisis in the Euro Zone. Broadly stronger US Dollar also weighed on the commodity pack.Gold extended previous losses, falling by almost 1% during heavy trading on Wednesday. The Euro Zone's turmoil continued to increase safe-haven appeal of the US Dollar thus creating pressure on the yellow metal.Silver mostly
US trade deficit in March was larger than more than anticipated. It increased by around 14%, to USD 51.8b. Value of imports was slightly above USD 286b. Value of exports reached USD 186.8b. It increased by USD 5.3b from February and was mainly driven by exports of fuel oil and chemicals.
Last week jobless claims in US dropped by 1000 to 367 000. It is the lowest level in 5 weeks. In addition, the number of people on unemployment benefits was lowest since mid 2008. Specialists think that previous results from first 3 weeks of April were rather related to Easter holidays and didn't reflect the true situation in labor markets.
Monetary committee of Bank of England left interest rate paid for reserves of commercial banks at 0.5%. Asset purchase program remained at previous, GBP 325b, level. Last time bank rate was changed in March 2009. It was lowered by 0.5% to current level. Asset purchase level was previously increased by GBP 50b in February 2012.
Germany's exports continued to expand in March, indicating growth for the third consecutive month. Exports of goods approached 98.9 billion Euros in March while total exports gained 0.9% in March on a seasonally adjusted basis, after surging by 1.5% in the preceding month. Meanwhile, trade surplus remained steady at 13.7 billion Euros in March.
Australian jobless rate decreased unexpectedly in April, reported Australian Bureau of Statistics. The rate of unemployment in the country tumbled to 4.9% on a seasonally adjusted basis in April as compared to 5.2% in March. Experts predicted the jobless rate to increase to 5.3% in April. Following the data release, Australian Dollar appreciated against its US counterpart and AUD/USD traded
Spanish bank, Bankia, is set to be partly nationalized, reported the central bank of Spain. Bankia, which has about 32 billion Euros in distressed assets, will obtain a 4.44 billion Euro-loan from the Spain's rescue fund that will be converted into stocks. The country's fund will have 45% stake in Bankia.
Colombian exports surged in March due to soaring crude oil prices. Exports added 16% in Mach on an annual basis, attaining 5.7 billion US Dollars, according to DANE. Exports of energy products rocketed by 25% in the period. US were the top-importer of Colombian exports, followed by China, Spain and Panama.
Crude oil prices decreased during Asian trade on Thursday as US crude oil stockpiles indicated further increase in inventories. Moreover, ongoing concerns over the Euro Zone's debt crisis created additional pressure on the commodity. Light, sweet crude oil futures for June delivery traded at 96.47 US Dollars per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, declining by 0.36% from the
The Euro Zone announced that it would hold back 1 billion Euros of the latest payment of the rescue fund to Greece. The move followed recent elections in the country that resulted in massive support of the anti-austerity parties. The Euro Zone said it would pay only 4.2 billion Euros of 5.2 billion Euros that are due to Greece. The
Gold prices continued to fall during Asian trade on Thursday as persistent worries that Greece may default and leave the Euro Zone increased the safe-haven appeal of the greenback. COMEX gold June contract trade at 1,591.25 US Dollars per troy ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange, falling by 0.19%.
China's expansion of exports and imports slowed down last month, lingering concerns over the stagnation of the country's economy. The data may stimulate further easing of the monetary policy. Exports increased by annualized 4.9% in April as compared to 8.9% expansion in March. At the same time, imports' growth decelerated from 3.5% to 0.3% in April, indicating decline in the
Japan current account surplus narrowed in March by 8.6 % from a year earlier making up $ 19.95 billion, which is better than expected by economists. The reasons behind current account surplus contraction are the Europe's sovereign debt crisis, the strong Yen and increasing energy imports. Japanese exports grew to 7.3 %, whereas imports soared to 11.9 %.
Despite rising Eurozone's worries due to the recent elections in France and Greece, the Euro has weakened slightly, breaking out of its trading range of $ 1.30 to $1.32. On Wednesday EUR/USD depreciated to $ 1.2930. However, European stocks have fallen significantly with Euro Stoxx banks index reaching its lowest level since 2009. Bond markets are under pressure as well.
Political situation in Europe raises concerns about possible slowdown of Chinese export to old continent.of Chinese export to old continent. Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index closed at 2408.59 after 1.7% drop. Both, Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 Index and Bloomberg China-US 55 Index, lost 1.9% of their starting value today. These were the biggest falls in last 6 weeks. Cosco Holdings
Spanish 10-year bond yields topped 6% level on Wednesday. This happened for the first time since April 26. Specialists state that this is happening due to continuing political turmoil in Greece and Spanish government plans to bail out its fourth largest bank Bankia SA announced earlier this week.
Gold prices fell to their lowest level in four months due to the renewed Eurozone concerns gain attention. Greece appears to be unable to form a government, while Hollande's victory in the France's presidential election increased worries concerning possible tensions between France and Germany. Gold futures for May delivery decreased by 2.1% to $1604 an ounce.
Unresolved coalition dillema in Greece depressed stock prices of Swiss companies to the bottom level this year. Swiss Market Index dropped by 0.4% to 5953.74 and Swiss Performance Index shrank 0.3% during morning trade. Actelion and Novartis AG lost 1.3% and 0.7% of their value respectively. Holcim managed to experience 1.2% gain after promising to present cost-cutting plans next week.
Moody's Investors Service is going to downgrade credit ratings of no less than 100 banks this month. This would raise their financing costs and force them to limit their lending. UBS AG, Credit Suisse Group AG and Morgan Stanley could be downgraded by three levels on their long term debt. JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and HSBC Holdings by two levels. Bank of
The IMF favours the SNB floor of CHF 1.20 against the common currency, as negative news coming from the Eurozone and particularly strong Swiss Franc have increased deflationary risks. If the Eurozone debt crisis worsens, the IMF anticipates the Franc to be under enduring pressure. Therefore, further monetary expansion might be necessary to maintain the floor value.