Industrial output in Romania accelerated on an annual basis in January driven by mining and quarrying production gaining 6% and by manufacturing output adding 6.6%, the National Institute of Statistics showed in a report on Wednesday. Year-on-year, industrial production advanced 5.7% in January, while on a monthly basis it rose 0.3% the same month.
Wheat futures for May settlement increased by 1.9% to 7.2325 per one bushel in morning session on the Chicago Board of Trade on Thursday. Price increases for a sixth day and this is the longest winning streak since July, 2012. Investors trade the commodity so positively, as the government announced a higher overseas demand for supplies from the U.S.
Bank Rossi, the Central bank of Russia, most probably will keep the key interest rates unchanged at 8.25% level in tomorrow's meeting, according economists' consensus. The central bank resists authority pressure to help President's plan to steer an economic growth of all state institutions. Surging inflation, which reached the fastest pace in one and a half year, is the key factor of keeping the rate in
The Colombian Peso advanced to 1,796.1 per the U.S. Dollar in early Bogota trading session on Thursday. That was the highest level of the currency in two weeks on an intraday basis. Investors speculate about a further Peso appreciation, as local companies receive a lot of revenue in the U.S. Dollar and change it to the local currency to pay
The South Korean Won declined to its lowest level in a five-month period as investors picked up their profits from local stocks and as the Bank of Korea maintained its key interest rates unchanged for the fifth month today at 2.75%, a Bloomberg data showed today. The Won dropped 1.1% to 1,109.11 per U.S. dollar touching the weakest level since
The Indonesian Rupiah decreased at the fastest pace in a two-week period on Thursday as the country's lawmakers are seeking to fill a post of the central bank's monetary operations deputy governor, which has been vacant for almost two years now. The Indonesian currency depreciated 0.2% to 9.708 per U.S Dollar on Thursday, its biggest drop in two weeks.
On Thursday, natural gas edged higher during US morning trading hours, following the release of the data which showed that inventories decreased more than expected. On the NYMEX, April delivery futures of the commodity were traded at $3.772 per million Btu, which was a 2.5% gain for the day.
German shares traded up on Thursday, as two-day summit of European leaders began in Brussels today. The DAX Index surged 0.8%, or 64.91 points, to 8,036.42, the highest value since January 2008. All but two groups in the gauge inched up. Deutsche Lufthansa AG was the best-performing company with a 3.6% rise, supporting advance in consumer services sector. Profit of
U.K. stocks traded close to a five-year high on Thursday, as rallying shares of financial and telecommunications groups led to gains in the benchmark index. The FTSE 100 advanced 0.4%, or 24.56 points, to 6,508.20. More than half of companies listed in the index posted gains in their share prices. Aggreko Plc, the world's largest temporary power generation company, jumped
On Thursday, US equity market indices were gaining, following a report that showed declined in weekly jobless claims, which added to the signs of recovery. The S&P 500 grew by 0.43%, reaching the level of 1,561.18. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also gained 0.43% and was traded at 14,516.97 by 1:56 p.m. London time.
On Thursday, copper was gaining, as investors shifted into riskier assets, following an optimistic retail sales data from the US, but the commodity remained under pressure by the strong Dollar. On the London Metal Exchange, three-month copper was traded at $7,791 per tonne, which was a gain compared to Wednesday's closing price of $7,785 per tonne.
The U.S. labour market showed a positive sign in the week ended on March 9 as the total number of initial claims for unemployment benefits decreased surprisingly in the week, a report released by the Labor Department showed on Thursday. The report showed that first-time jobless claims went down by 10,000, when it dropped from 342,000 to 332,000, while economists
On Thursday, expectations of British inflation grew to the highest for four-and-a-half years. 10-year break-even rate, which is an index that measures inflation expectations, climbed to a level of 3.37%, compared to the 2012 lowest of 2.32% in July. Yield on 10-year UK government bonds added 2 basis points and reached 1.99%.
On Thursday, crude oil was experiencing a two-day long streak of losses, following the announcement of increase in inventories. On the NYMEX, WTI futures for April delivery lost 0.6% and were traded at $92.01 by 12:42 p.m. in London. April Brent futures, on the contrary, inched up by 0.6% for the day.
On Thursday, gold was traded lower as data from the US showed signs of economic recovery. On the Comex, April delivery futures of the precious metal were traded at $1,575.00 per troy ounce, which was 0.8% daily loss by 8:41 a.m. in New York. Yesterday, the commodity hit a two-week high, settling at $1,598.80.
On Thursday, European equity markets were in green territories, following the release of optimistic US employment data. Euro Stoxx 50 grew up by 1.32% and reached the level of 2,740.50 at 12:52 London time. The biggest gainer was Italian insurer Generali, which grew by 7.4% following a report that showed unexpected operating results.
The Swiss National Bank guaranteed to precede all necessary steps to keep the minimum exchange rate in the limit of CHF 1.2 versus the Euro. The Zurich-based central bank is maintaining the target range for the three-month Libor unchanged at 0.0-0.25%. The SNB forecasts an inflation rate to decline 0.2% and foresees growth of 1-1.5% for Switzerland in 2013."The inflation
Eurostat reported on Thursday that unemployment in Eurozone continued to grow in the last quarter of 2012. The number of employed people declined by 0.3% on a seasonally adjusted basis and reached a level of 145.7 million in absolute terms. Year-over-year, employment fell by 0.8%, compared to a fall of 0.6% in the preceding quarter.
On Thursday, Spanish borrowing costs decreased during an unscheduled auction, since investors were optimistic about debt markets. The Spanish treasury managed to sell 803 million euros of 16, 27 and 28-year bonds. The yields fell to 5.224%, 5.434% and 5.432% respectively. Bid-ask ratio was equal to 4.1.
Latest data showed on Thursday that inflation of consumer prices in Poland declined last month more than expected. Consumer price index added 1.3% compared to a reading of 1.7% in the preceding month. Economists, however, expected that consumer prices will grow by 1.5% in February.
Industrial output in Japan advanced below economists' expectation in month January, a report released by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry showed on Thursday. The report said industrial production added 0.3% on a sequential basis in January compared to projections of a 1.3% gain, on an annual basis industrial output dropped 5.8% in January.
Producer prices in U.S. increased slightly more than preliminary estimated in February driven by a substantial growth of energy prices, the Labor Department reported on Thursday. The report showed the producer price index advanced 0.7% in February compared to expectations of a 0.6% growth, following a 0.2% gain recorded the month before.
Hong Kong stocks fluctuated between gains and losses on Thursday. The Hang Seng Index increased 0.3% to 22,618.18 points, winning back the losses of 1.1% at the beginning of the trading session. Chinese railway and utility companies rallied, while the Hong Kong banks were put under pressure as mortgage rates were raised. Utilities and financial sectors posted biggest gains in
U.S. equities edged higher on rising optimism about the world's largest economy's outlook, as retail sales data topped the analyst estimates. The S&P 500 Index rallied 0.1%, to 1,554.52 by its close. Five out of ten sectors included in the index posted gains. Among best-performing companies was Netflix with a 5.6% rally to end at $192.36 after the online video