The ECB Vice President expects the already adopted measures to boost the Euro area's economy to be sufficient to expand the size of the balance sheet to the same level as at the beginning of 2012. However, according to Vito Constancio, the ECB does not rule out a possibility of buying other assets, such government bonds, if the goals are
The US economy expanded at annualised 3.9% in the quarter through September, notably exceeding the consensus of 3.3% reached among the experts. Consumer spending turned out to be the main contributor, growing 2.2% versus the forecast of 1.8%. According to Dan Greenhaus at BTIG, "whether the economy is accelerating or will accelerate is no longer a question ... the economy has
The Euro appreciated 0.16% relative to the Pound, reaching the level of 0.7931 today, as investors shift their attention to the UK Treasury Committee Hearing on the BoE's inflation report. Economists expect volatility to elevate further, as more MPC members deliver their speeches and respond to questions. Since the BoE may postpone the rate hike, the risk of Sterling's fall
Euro zone's largest economy barely grew in the third quarter of this year, its GDP went up by 0.1%. And now it becomes more apparent that Germany's recovery is mostly dependent on the domestic demand - private consumption added 0.7%, while the investments gave up 0.9%. Accordingly, propensity of the businesses to make capital expenditure is low and external demand
China's Central Bank decided to cut the interest rates for the first time in two years, as the world's second largest economy needs stimulus to avoid further slowdown. China's leadership is facing problematic economic context - producer prices have been falling and consumer inflation is weak. As a result, they may need to prompt economic activity with more measures, such
Germany is the principal economy of the Euro zone, and the Ifo surveys are usually awaited with great interest. However, the volatility was low before and after today's release. At first the Euro dipped below 1.24, but once the business climate index was published, the losses were quickly erased, with the pair stabilising around 1.241. Although the consensus was a
The Swiss Franc followed the footsteps of the Euro and depreciated 0.76% against the US Dollar, reaching the level of 0.9656, the lowest point since July 2013. Mario Draghi sounded more decisive today during his speech regarding the expansion the scope of the currently running asset purchasing programme, driving the single European currency lower.
The difficult economic context of the Euro zone and weak confidence in its ability to weather the current headwinds have been pushing down the inflation expectations towards the levels referred to by Mario Draghi as 'excessively low'. According to the ECB's President speech at the 24th European Banking Congress held in Frankfurt, the monetary authority does not rule out buying
Retail sales in the United Kingdom grew at a faster pace in October than expected. After an adjusted 0.4% contraction in September the volume of sales went up 0.8% against the consensus of a more timid 0.3% increase. So far the Sterling has appreciated against all its seven major counterparts: 0.28% against the Euro and 0.31% versus the US Dollar.
Considering the latest results of a survey among purchasing managers in the production sector of China, the second largest economy appears to be in need of additional stimulus to avoid deterioration of the current situation. The HSBC Manufacturing PMI Index fell to 50.0 from 50.4 reported in October, the lowest level in the last six months.
BNP Paribas economists expect the minutes from the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee meeting held in October to boost US Dollar's appreciation against the Euro, even tough the currency pair showed little volatility today. So far EUR/USD is trading at its open of $1.2532.
Despite the growing fears of inflationary pressure, a majority of the MPC members decided to keep the key interest rate unchanged. While the committee mostly agrees there are substantial risks to the UK growth, some members argue the extra capacity may soon be depleted, which in turn may push the inflation above the 2% target.
Mario Draghi said the ECB is ready to adopt unconventional measures to induce growth if the situation warrants such a step, implying possible purchases of sovereign debt in case the economic activity slumps further. The ECB President also urged governments to initiate structural reforms, arguing the monetary policy cannot sustain robust recovery alone.
According to the BoE's recent report, the increase in the price level in November may be larger than previously expected. However, during the following six months the inflation may slow down to 0.9% before accelerating to the target level of 2% over the next three years.
The UK currency moved away from the 14-month trough reached after the downgrade of the inflation outlook in the recent report but stayed close to 1.5619, as the BoE Governor made speech in Singapore. Marc Carney mainly spoke on the topic of reliability of the modern financial system and highlighted the need for improvements in the government spending and taxation
The Japanese economy faced an unexpected 0.4% contraction in the third quarter, the second negative quarterly growth in a row, as exports and consumer spending failed to pick up following the sales tax increase. These results cast doubts over the effectiveness of the 'Abenomics' to prompt business activity in the country and lower the chance of yet another widely discussed
The Japanese currency continued to slide relative to the US Dollar against the background of indecision regarding the elections that Shinzo Abe might use to gather wider support in the parliament. USD/JPY rose more than a half of a percent today, stopping only near 116. According to Kazuo Shirai from Union Bank NA, given the current sentiment in the market,
The largest Euro area member avoided contraction, as the economy advanced 0.1% in the third quarter against the 0.1% decline in domestic product a quarter before. The boost in business activity was mainly provided by higher consumer spending and growing exports.
The strengthening domestic demand helped the second biggest Euro area economy to grow 0.3% versus the 0.1% contraction in the quarter before, while the experts expected only a 0.1% expansion. However, Michel Sapin, French Finance Minister, remains concerned that the recovery is still weak and is insufficient to combat the unemployment efficiently.
Reserve Bank of Australia Assistance Governor sees the Australian economy gaining traction in 2016, as the currency depreciates in response to the higher US Dollar interest rates. Christopher Kent believes the recovery may stay lacklustre for a while, but will be able to pick up by 2016, as the Australian Dollar has more room to depreciate - the exchange rate
Even though some analysts argue the value of the US Dollar may be lifted by the positive retail sales data to be released tomorrow, the Greenback has been underperforming relative to the Swiss Franc since 09:30 GMT. The demand for the Swiss national currency was prompted after the decrease in the PPI had turned out to be less than expected
World's second largest economy faces more headwinds to achieve its growth target, as the changes in industrial production and the level of investments in fixed asset failed to meet expectations. These disappointing results should lead to more pressure on the government to provide stimulus for the economy. The industrial production and investments grew 7.7% and 15.9%, respectively.
The Euro area's recovery is still uncertain, due to the industry output level, which rose in September at a slower pace than it was expected, highlighting the number of European cars and television sold was slowing down. The Euro zone factory output increased 0.6% in September versus the month earlier, boosted by energy and machinery.
The price of gold rises for a second day in a row amid the weakening Greenback, even though holdings of the largest exchange-traded fund keep declining. Nevertheless, the market analysts say the metal could reach a low of $1,000 an ounce by the end of the year.