UK housing sector has been showing continued signs of recovery as there were 109,580 properties sold in June. It was the highest number since the end of 2007 and was partly due to government schemes aimed at helping buyers. However, among the positive results there are concerns that only 3% of these buyers were under the age of 30.
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand is assumed to raise the interest rates by 0.25% following a last month's hike from 3% to 3.25%. NZD/USD reached 0.8684, the highest level during the Asian session and then started to consolidate at 0.8688. The probable support may be found at 0.8650, July's 17 low, with the resistance at 0.8720, July's 21 high.
Long-term 30-year U.S. bond yields were close to their 13-month low, as the market reckons the Fed will not increase the borrowing costs when inflation rate remains decreased. Meanwhile, the spread with the five-year yields decreased to the lowest point since February 2009, as economic data showed CPI increased 0.3% in June after the previous month's 0.4%. The 30-year yield
Gold lost 0.4% of its value in the previous session because of the firmer equities, reaching the level of $1,308. However, traders and analysts forecast gold prices to fluctuate at $1,277 for the whole year due to improvements in the U.S. economy, while Asia weakens. The largest exchange-traded fund in the world SPDR Gold Trust expanded its holdings by 1.5
Asian stocks grew as Hang Seng China Enterprises led the way with a 2.1% jump today following a 2.4% increase yesterday. The Asia-Pacific gauge seems to be on track to reach the highest close since June, 2008 and was trading at 148.33. Meanwhile, the Greenback was lower against 14 out of the 16 major currencies as monthly inflation went down.
Gold was traded below its three-month high as investors evaluated U.S. economic data, which led to an appreciation of the Dollar, slowing demand for other alternative investments. Immediate delivery went down from $1,345.17 to $1,307 and had its first drop last week during the previous seven weeks. Gold is positioned on the defensive end against the strong USD, which will keep pressure on the prices.
The time when China's debt exceeds US debt seems to be imminent. As of the last month, aggregate debt in China surged to 251% of the GDP. When comparing to US debt, the value from 2013 reveals a total of 260% ratio. The major concerns are related with China's fast rise in financial credit. During the previous year, economists stated
Chinese banks are likely to present lower mortgage rates to their clients in the second half of the year following a decrease in the demand in the real estate market. The home sales plummeted 9.2% in the first quarter of the year compared with 2013 forcing the developers to lower prices since March. The mortgage restrictions are believed to be the biggest factor limiting home sales.
The Euro was traded below $1.3491, the lowest since February, due to the anxiety of sanctions against Russia. Several European companies, banks and manufacturers have cut the volume of deals with Russian businesses. George Osborne claims, that U.K. must be aware of economic hit. Meanwhile, Germany continue to keep its ties with Russian government, as the crisis could expose about 25.000 jobs.
The common currency reached its lowest level in multiple month against many of its counterparts on Wednesday, most notably depreciating against the Swiss Franc. The Euro slipped to 8-month lows against both the Greenback and the Aussie at $1.3459 and A$1.4304 respectively. The fall of the Euro concurred with the anticipation for the ECB to ease its policy further.
Australia's consumer prices rose more than expected during the previous quarter. The trimmed mean measure inched higher 0.8% from the last quarter, opposed to the forecast of 0.6%. Paul Bloxham stated that depreciating the currency will not be easy as it is more difficult for the RBA to lower interest rates when their main target is inflation.
The Australian dollar appreciated as annual inflation rate grew at its fastest in four years. Aussie rose 0.2% against 16 other major currencies due to yearly trimmed mean inflation rising to 2.9%, with the AUD/USD hitting the highest in two weeks. Overall, for the week the Australian dollar's index performed the best out of the ten developed nation currency indexes – strengthening by 0.9%.
China struggles to stimulate the economy so far to reach its growth target of 7.5%. The economists believe China still has to raise stimulus to achieve the 2014 expansion target, even though growth accelerated in the second quarter. The world's second largest economy gained around 7.5% in the second quarter, together with the gains from the prior period indicating the annual rate of 8.2%.
While the U.S. inflation faintly accelerated, leading to broad gains in the value of the U.S. currency, the Euro gave up its positions, slipping below this year's minimum of $1.3480. Now the currency pair is facing a long-term trend-line at 1.3470. Meanwhile, the Bundesbank warns there are still problems with the economy of the Euro zone and with the flagman
Russian core economy motors were added to the U.S. sanction list on Wednesday. As a result, Rosneft, Gazprombank, Novatek and Vnesheconombank are no longer able to make transactions in U.S. dollars, nor they have the ability to enter American markets to take long-term loans. These sanctions lead to significant problems for companies that do business with Russia.
The greenback climbed to the highest level in eight months against the Euro, triggered by the rise in short-term US Treasury yields, which caused traders to speculate about potential increments in interest rates. The US Dollar stretched its gains after the release of June's Consumer Price Index report. Unsurprisingly, US CPI rose by 0.3%. However, core CPI revealed to be
Euro zone public debt jumped to 93.9% of the economic output in the first quarter of this year drawing near the peak it is planned to reach towards the end of 2014. The debt amounted to 9.055 trillion euros in the first three months of this year opposed to 8.905 trillion euros in the fourth quarter of 2013. The European Commission anticipates the debt to top
U.S. cost of living rose after a 0.4% increase in May, since gasoline became more expensive. The food index is up 0.1% from May, the energy index added 1.6%, which is a third gain up in a row, the index for all items minus food and energy was up by 0.1%. However, inflation did not gain much pace, as pointed
U.K. budget suffered minor changes in June as the economic upturn increased tax receipts while the government spending rose. Net borrowing amounted to 11.4 billion pounds in contrast to 11.5 billion pounds in 2013. The government revenue climbed 4.7%, whereas spending rose 3.9%. The economic indicators tell the economy is improving, which in turn provides backup for U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron before the elections
The Texas light sweet was trading at a higher level for the second day before the US fuel inventories data. Its August futures rose by 0.6% and were as high as $105.24 on the NYMEX. It is also estimated that the crude inventories declined by 2.8 million barrels, which is forecast by a Bloomberg survey in relation to tomorrow's report.
Data released by Eurostat reveals that the ratio between government debt and GDP rose to 93.9% in the Euro zone, representing an extra 1.2% compared to the previous quarter. Concerning the 28 countries which form the European Union, the ratio rose to 88%. Greece, Italy and Portugal registered the highest ratios of debt to GDP, while the lowest ratios were
The US Dollar keeps rising as the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza are still concerning traders. The Euro dropped by 0.27% versus the Dollar, while the Sterling remained stable, falling 0.06% to 1.7065. The greenback was also higher against the Swiss Franc and the Yen, respectively 0.35% and 0.09%. The US Dollar Index, which compares the Dollar's performance with six
The Yen depreciated against both the Greenback and the Euro on Tuesday following a minor reduction in geopolitical risk aversion, which raised the equity value across Asia. The 18-nation currency grew 0.1% to 137.25 Yen, while the Dollar gained the same 0.1% to 101.48 Yen. The Asian markets could not entirely escape geopolitical concerns, keeping the Greenback and the common currency in a narrow range against the
The UK has started a large scale investigation into banks such as UBS, Deutsche Bank, Barclays, RBS and others about foreign exchange manipulation. The investigation will target bank and other financial institution employees. There have already been raised such concerns, as a BoE employee was allegedly suspended for it in March.