Analysis Brent Premium

Fundamental Analysis EUR "Technically, easier monetary policy conditions should be currency negative." - Jane Foley, analyst at Rabobank The European Central Bank held key rate at 1 per cent on Thursday and told it expects a gradual economic recovery this year. USD "Labor market conditions have improved in recent months." - Federal Open Market Committee The number of Americans claiming for unemployment benefits tumbled to 365,000 in the week ended April 28 from 392,000 the week before, said the Department of Labor on Thursday. GBP "The service sector started the second quarter on a weaker note than in the first quarter, but continued to grow at a reasonable pace." - Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit U.K. service sector growth slowed in April, Markit Economics data showed on ...

Fundamental Analysis EUR German DAX index climbed on Thursday lifted as ECB decided to keep its benchmark rate unchanged and Spain successfully auctioned bonds. Index was supported with positive news from US as data showed jobless claims fell more than expected last week. BMW AG rallied 2.72% after German car maker reported its EBIT jumped 19% in 1st quarter. USD Timothy Geithner, US Treasury Secretary, said that China has to alter its polices tied to exports and focus on stimulating domestic consumption. Such change is vital for sustaining China's economic expansion. Currently, China is exploring the ways for new economic reforms as the country recognized the risks of overreliance on exports, Timothy Geithner added. GBP Average house prices in the UK declined by 0.2% last month, ...

Fundamental Analysis EUR "The salvation of the country, remaining in the euro, means great sacrifices" - Evangelos Venizelos, Greek finance minister Greece’s government is preparing a final version of an agreement on budget and structural measures required for a 130 billion euro bailout, said a Greek government official. USD "Markets would love to see some certainty, and we don't have any of that at the moment" - Frank Lesh, a futures analyst and broker at FuturePath Trading LLC U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday as investors awaited the outcome of discussion on a financial aid package for Greece. GBP "After a stronger-than-expected December, these latest figures are rather sobering" - Helen Dickinson, head of retail at KPMG U.K. retail sector contracted in January as shoppers limited their ...

Fundamental Analysis EUR 17-nation currency slipped against most of its peers before Greece's PM Papademos meets with politicians from three leading parties as officials still cannot agree on debt reduction plan. The meeting scheduled on Tuesday. Greece representatives and creditors still have to agree on EUR 600 million of fiscal measures for this year. Euro declined 0.2% to USD 1.3109 in London trade. Currently EUR/USD is trading at USD 1.3116. USD US President Obama ordered to freeze all Iran's central bank and governments assets deposited in US or in any overseas branch of US entity, announced the White House today. President Obama claimed Iran current activities to be a serious threat to international financial system. Before the order, only assets owned by sanctioned Iranian ...

(Reuters) - Brent crude's premium to U.S. oil could be poised for another record run after jumping 50 percent over the past week, as an expected build in Midwest inventories again exerts pressure on the U.S. benchmark. The Brent-WTI spread, which measures the difference between London-based Brent and the U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI), has jumped past $19, up sharply from near $12 at the start of last week. With U.S. refiners starting seasonal maintenance just as a major pipeline starts carrying more crude, traders said the oil glut in the U.S. Midwest that helped drive last year's record spread was back on their radar. That should widen the discount between what refiners pay for oil around the WTI delivery point of Cushing, Oklahoma, compared with the price paid by ...

(Reuters) - While governments and regulators dither, IntercontinentalExchange energy hub has moved ahead of the curve, with steps to boost transparency that could increase the lure of its flagship Brent contract over its U.S. rival. Every Monday, ICE Futures Europe (ICE.N) will publish a breakdown of what kind of traders are active on its Brent and gasoil contracts, widely viewed as its most useful, global pricing benchmarks. The measure is imposed by the exchange, not the regulator, but narrows the regulatory gap between the ICE Brent contract and the world's most liquid futures contract U.S. futures traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX). "The move was long due and it is smart of the ICE to do it on a voluntary basis," said Olivier Jakob of Petromatrix, who has published ...

(Reuters) - Gold jumped to a record high for a fifth straight trading day on Monday as the prospect of more declines in the U.S. dollar drove investors into the precious metal, with record exchange traded fund holdings helping silver to its highest in more than three decades. Heightened inflationary threats despite interest hikes by China and the European Central Bank boosted gold's safe haven appeal, while silver also attracted buying from investors looking for a cheaper alternative to bullion. The gold-to-silver ratio was at a 28-year low around 35. Spot gold added $1.35 to $1,474.05 an ounce by 0539 GMT, having risen as high as $1,476.21 after the euro jumped to a 15-month high against the U.S. dollar. "I think there is a good chance that gold could hit $1,500 an ounce within this ...

(Reuters) - Gold struck another record high on Friday as the dollar weakened against the euro, while silver hit a 31-year high after ETF holdings jumped to an all time high on inflation worries driven by a surge in oil prices. A strong aftershock in Japan initially put pressure on gold on Thursday, but investors have turned their attention to the prospect of more declines in the dollar following the European Central Bank's first rate hike since 2008. Spot gold rose as high as $1,465.95 an ounce, a record high, with an increase in SDPR holdings offering additional support. "Maybe there is some dollar-related buying because it's weakening. People see the ETF increasing a bit, so they want to buy some gold," said Ronald Leung, director of Lee Cheong Gold Dealers in Hong Kong. "There's a ...

(Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's plans to expand its drilling rig count by 28 percent signal a rush to deliver the 12.5 million barrels a day (bpd) of capacity that Riyadh has long claimed is in place. Two Saudi officials told Reuters on Tuesday that the extra rig activity would maintain rather than increase the kingdom's oil capacity. It completed a multi-year expansion in 2009 meant to boost spare capacity by more than 3 million barrels per day. "It's not to expand capacity. It's to sustain current capacity on new fields and old fields that have been bottled up," one of the officials said. State-run oil giant Saudi Aramco met leading oil service companies including Halliburton (HAL.N) over the weekend to discuss plans to boost the country's rig count this year and next to 118, from around ...