Downgrade of credit ratings of more than a dozen Spanish banks carried out by Moody's boosted the demand of safest government debt in Europe. German 2, 5, 10 and 30 year bond yields descended to the lowest level in the history and continued bond price increase for the fifth consecutive day. 10 year bond yield was at 1,42% at 9
Fitch Ratings announced on Thursday that it downgrades Greece's credit rating from B- to CCC, meaning that the country is highly vulnerable and dependent on favorable economic environment to meet its obligations. The agency cited that strong opposition to budget cuts and failure to form the government increased risk of possible Greece exit from the Euro Zone. In case Greece
China's new house prices dropped further in major cities in April, signaling on cooling real estate sector. In April, 43 cities posted a fall in overall property prices on a monthly basis while 46 cities reported year-to-year declines, announced the National Bureau of Statistics. Experts claim that restricting measures adopted by the government since 2010 continued to impact the development
Crude oil futures moved higher during Asian session on Friday as expectation for new round of QE buoyed the price. Light, sweet crude oil futures for delivery in June traded at 92.63 US Dollars per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, growing by 0.08%. Meanwhile, Brent oil for delivery in July traded at 107.34 US Dollars per barrel, rising
Spanish GDP contracted by 0.3% in Q1 from Q4 as austerity measures impacted public and private spending in the country. Considering yearly changes, the GDP contracted by 0.4% in Q1, reported the National Statistics Institute. Moreover, exports weakened, rising at modest pace of 2.2% in Q1 after posting strong growth for several quarters.
China raised export quotas on rare earth metals for businesses as they managed to meet government's environmental standards. The export quotas on rare earths were increased by 10,680 tons, raising the total permitted exports to 21,226 tons, according the Ministry of Commerce. Meanwhile, China has commercial disputes with its business partners as the US, EU and Japan over limitations set
US natural gas stockpiles surged to 2,667 billion cubic feet last week, reported the EIA. US inventories were by 774 billion cubic feet higher than in 2011 and 773 billion cubic feet above five-year average. Following the data release, natural gas futures for June delivery lost 3.5% to trade at 2.526 US Dollars per million Btu.
Moody's reduced credit rating of 16 Span's banks, citing a rise in bad debts in the country's financial sector and overall deterioration of the economic environment. The decision came after shares of Bankia lost another 14%. The largest banks such as Banco Santander and BBVA were downgraded while ten out of 17 banks were put on negative watch, implying that
Gold prices increased during US session on Thursday despite broadly stronger US Dollar. Unexpected contraction of Philly Fed manufacturing index added to hopes for new round of QE in the US thus stimulating gold prices. COMEX gold June contract traded at 1,573.15 US Dollars per troy ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange, gaining 2.38%.
Philadelphia's manufacturing activity shank in May after eight consecutive months of expansion. Philly Fed manufacturing index lost 14.3 points, approaching 5.8 this month as compared to April's figure of 8.5, reported the Fed. Experts predicted the index to gain 1.5 points to 10.0 this month. The data lingers concerns over speed of economic recovery in the US.
German 10-year bond yields dropped to the record low while Spain's borrowing costs jumped. German yields increased 7 basis points, to 1.44% at noon in London, after declining to 1.433%, the lowest level on record. 1.75% bond maturing June 2022 price increased 0.3% and reached EUR 102.920. German two-year note yield decreased by 1 basis point to 0.06% after reaching record low level at
Bloomberg consumer comfort index in the U.S. dropped by 3.2 to the record low -43.6 in the week from May 6th to 13th. This was the fourth consecutive weekly decline in the index as the level of around -40 is associated with recession in economy. All components of the index fell as well. Personal finance dropped from -11.2 to -12.9 and reached
The currency ICE index, which indicates dollar's relation to major six peers, on Thursday experienced a decrease in value by 0.103 points - from 81.359 to 81.256 - in Asian trading market just after celebrating its longest period of increments in two decades. The Greenback index had been recovering during thirteen continious sessions straight on till this Wednesday evening, when
The U.S. dollar gained 0.24 percent versus a basket of 6 currencies since late Wednesday, and Dollar Index reached 81.62. The movement is attributed to ongoing political deadlock in Greece and high yields on Spanish bonds auctioned on May 17. Dollar strengthens for a 14th day in a row which is the longest positive streak since 1985.
Rural commodities rose on Wednesday as dry weather in the US and growing China's demand lifted the commodity pack.Wheat was the top-performer as dry weather in the US persists and is likely to curb the crops.Corn advanced by almost 4% as dry weather in the US may impact the harvest while China's demand remains strong. Recently, China bought 900,000 MT
Energy markets balanced on Wednesday between Greek political uncertainty and lower than expected increase in US inventories.Crude oil ended the day on the negative note, being pressured by stronger US Dollar. However, rising industrial production in the US restricted the downswing.Brent oil was the top-loser amid high risk-aversion among investors caused by endless turmoil in the Euro Zone. Moreover, looming
Industry metals were mixed on Wednesday after the ECB reported that it will cease financing of some Greek banks.Aluminum was the top-performer as the metal received support from recent output cut of Tajikistan's Aluminum.Copper went down on lingering Euro Zone's concerns. However, China's copper production fell by 3.7% last month whereas cancelled warrants stayed weak, limiting the losses.Nickel continued to
Precious metals dived on Wednesday amid stronger US Dollar and persistent turmoil in the Euro Zone.Gold was only marginally lower as it managed to pare previous losses after release of the Fed minutes. Fed hinted that the US economy may need more monetary stimulus to boost growth.Silver declined on weakness of the global equities after the ECB stopped financing of
Canadian Dollar, commonly known as loonie, depreciated for four consecutive days as specialists speculate on Greece's ability to remain in the Euro zone while Spain's borrowing costs surged during sovereign debt auction. The currency declined 0.2% to CAD 1.0142 per USD at 8:30 a.m. and touched the weakest, CAD 1.0157 per USD, level in four months.
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission may suggest easing Dodd-Frank Act regulations on speculation in commodities like oil, natural gas and other. The commissioners are thinking on a vote on how companies accumulate their trading positions when they have stakes in other companies. The commission is considering raising threshold from 10 to 50%. the current 10% threshold was approved in October 2011.
The Fed considers the possibility of another monetary easing in the U.S., in case legislators fail to agree on the budget or Europe debt situation deteriorates. Ben S. Bernanke stressed that fiscal policies expiration at the end of 2012 may knock the economy back into recession. Although U.S. economy lately shows strong fundamentals, downside risks are potentially large and might cause the loss of the
Jobless claims in the U.S. didn't live up to the expectations that the reading will decrease by 5K and remained unchanged instead, at 370K level, in the week from 6th to 12th of May. Amount of people on rolling unemployment claims increased by around 18K while the number of people on prolonged payments decreased by around 45K. 31 out of 52
The common currency has lost 3.9 percent in May, almost reaching its record low of $1.2624 that it hit in mid-January. Today the euro gained 0.1 percent against the U.S. dollar and was traded at $1.2718. This positive movement is overshadowed by the news on ECB temporarily stopping loans to some Greek banks.
Home sales in Beijing rose sharply since the beginning of May as number of transactions more than doubled on yearly basis, according to China Daily. The Chinese bought above 7,000 apartments in the period between 1st and 15th of May, indicating year-to-year increase of 103%, reported Century 21. The major stimulating factor was price reductions offered by property developers.