US GDP expanded by 2.8% in Q4 of 2011 on the increase in business inventories and consumer spending. However, experts projected the US economy to expand by 3%. Consumer spending surged 2% in Q4 from 1.7% in Q3 while business inventories increased to USD 56 billion following USD 2 billion fall in Q3. Exports jumped by 4.7% while imports soared
Greece is likely to agree on a debt swap deal with private bondholders over this weekend, said Olli Rehn, the EU's Economic Commissioner. The deal is expected to be closed by EU summit due on Monday, he added. However, Greece still needs a bailout to repay its USD 19 billion worth of bonds that are due March 20.
The number of unemployed in Spain surpassed five millions in the Q4 of 2011, according to the National Statistics Institute. The total number of individuals without job attained 5.3 million in Q4 as compared to 4.9 million in the preceding quarter. The unemployment rate hit a 17-year high of 22.8% as compared to Euro Zone's average of 10.3%. Almost half
US S&P 500 Index fell on Thursday, weighted down by an unexpected drop in new home sales. US benchmark declined 0.57% or 7.62 points and closed at 1,318.43 with nine out of ten industries posting losses as home sales decelerated 2.2% in December. Main losers were energy and telecommunication shares with E Trade Financial dropping 14.6% and Range resources giving
Agricultural markets rose on Thursday with grain commodities extending previous gains and sugar and coffee finding new room for encouragement. Grain commodities were strongly supported by expected cut in exports of top grain producers because of unfavorable weather conditions. Sugar was mostly backed up by the depreciating US Dollar after Fed's decision and poor economic data from the US. Moreover,
Energy commodities were almost flat on Thursday. Crude oil inched up 0.3% on the broadly softer US Dollar. However, slowdown in the US demand restrained price jump, keeping it below USD 100 per barrel. Meanwhile, Brent oil awaits fresh stimulus from developments across Iranian oil embargo. The oil shortage is likely to be offset by increased exports from Saudi Arabia
Industrial metals gathered momentum amid positive equities and eco-friendly data releases. However, volumes of trade are light due to China's holidays. Base metals may seek additional support on the high cancelled warrants and declining inventories at the LME warehouses, reflecting stronger spot demand for this commodity group. At the same time, US faced growing demand for durable goods thus providing
Precious metals, except for palladium, advanced on Tuesday amid softer US Dollar and expectations of further quantitative easing in the US. Gold managed to surpass USD 1,700 per ounce for the first time in the last seven weeks. Silver and platinum also followed the yellow metal's suit and rallied for second consecutive day. Precious metals' holdings of silver and gold-backed
New York crude oil futures climbed near USD 100 per barrel during the Asian trade. Crude oil contract for March added 0.1% to USD 99.77 per barrel during the electronic trade, on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gasoline futures for February delivery were steady at USD 2.855 while heating oil February contract added one cent to USD 3.06.
US stocks pared the gains on Thursday after data showed the sales of new homes unexpectedly dropped in December, putting pressure on investor sentiment. S&P 500 index lost 0.57% or 7.62 points and closed at 1,318.43, while Dow Jones Industrial Average index edged down 0.18% or 22.33 points to 12,734.63. Nasdaq Composite fell 0.46% or 13.03 points and settled at
German index on prices on import increased by 8% on an annual basis last year, reported Destatis. This was the largest increase in price in the last 11 years. The index soared 3.9% in December on monthly basis. At the same time, export prices edged up 3.7% on a yearly average basis in 2011.
Natural gas futures tumbled on Thursday despite IEA report on the essential fall in natural gas stockpiles last week. Natural gas futures for delivery in March traded at USD2.654 per million British thermal units at the US last session, on the New York Mercantile Exchange, losing 4.17%.
Portugal faced increased pressure from investors as they expect the country to be the next to default. The yield on 10-year sovereign bonds soared above 15%, the record high level in the Euro Zone. The country's credit rating was downgraded to selective default by Standard's & Poor's two weeks ago. However, Portugal has started to make progress towards debt crisis
European shares rallied on Thursday as investors anticipated news that Federal Reserve will freeze borrowing costs by the end of 2014. Stoxx 600 index gained 1.1% and finished at 257.86, while German DAX index climbed 1.8% and settled at 6,539.85. UK FTSE 100 index jumped 1.3% to 5,795.20 and French CAC 40 added 1.5%, closing at 3,363.23. Greek ASE Composite
The core durable goods orders in the US increased essentially more than initially projected last month, rising for third month in line. The orders of core durables surged by 2.1% last month on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the US Census Bureau. Experts predicted the orders to climb 0.9% in December.
Samsung Electronics Co. reported its 4th quarter profit added 17% on accelerating sales of smartphone. The company posted net income of $3.6 bn compared to a $3.42 bn a year before. Sales revenue grew 13%, reaching 47.3 trillion Won. Samsung Electronics shipped more smarthphones than did Apple. The popularity of Galaxy smartphone helped company to sell around 300 million devices.
BP has to cover only a part of liabilities of Transocean, the owner of oil rig, for oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, US judge announced. Under the contract terms, Transocean is shielded from paying many pollution claims; however, the company must to cover legal fees and it is not free from obligation to pay civil penalties
New home sales in the US declined by 2.2% in December, reported US Census Bureau. The new home sales declined to 307,000 units on a seasonally adjusted basis while analysts expected the sales to rise by 2% to 320,000 units. Following the data release, the US Dollar inched lower against the Euro and the pair EUR/USD gained 0.44% to 1.3165.
The EU may need more money to reduce the public debt of Greece to about 120% of the GDP by 2020, said Olli Rehn, the Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner. He also expects Greece to reach a consensus with private bondholders on the debt swap before the end of January. At the same time, the EU and IMF have to
The trade balance of New Zealand increased unexpectedly in December, reported Statistics New Zealand. The trade balance soared to NZD 338 million from November's reading of NZD 308 deficit. Experts projected a deficit of NZD 50 million. Exports hit the record of NZD 4.38 billion from NZD 3.91 billion in November, while imports declined from a record high NZD 4.22
In the US, the number of initial jobless claims increased more than expected last week after hitting almost four-year low a week before, reported the US Labor Department. The number of people applying for jobless benefits added 21,000 to 377,000 as compared to prior week reading of 352,000. Experts predicted the number of jobless claims to increase by 14,000 to
New Zealand's Dollar maintained 6-week gains against most of its peers on Friday, after national statistics showed the country unexpectedly faced a trade surplus for the first time in 5 months. Kiwi traded $0.8217 in Sydney evening trade, adding 1.9% on weekly basis. Aussie slipped 0.1% to $1.0617. Currently NZD/USD is trading at $0.8222 while AUD/USD is trading at $1.0627.
Canadian Dollar climbed against its US peer on Thursday, reaching parity first time in 3 months as commodities advanced on Fed announcement about freezing US borrowing costs. Loonie appreciated 0.3% against US Dollar to C$1.0018 in Toronto, reaching the highest value since November 1. USD/CAD currently is trading at C$1.0031.
The US economy probably grew in the 4th quarter at the highest velocity in 2011 as national consumption and employment accelerated. Economists questioned by Bloomberg predict the US GDP added 3% in the last three months of 2011, compared to 1.8% increase in the 3rd quarter. The report will be issued today by the Commerce Department.