Aud/usd Parity On February

Dukascopy Fundamental Analysis EUR 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 further credit rating cuts are possible. USD As the U.S. dollar gets stronger, investors are concerned that aggravating debt crisis in Europe will reduce demand for oil. Therefore, oil shows decline for a third week. Crude oil lost 25 cents yesterday and reached the 6-month low of $92.56. Brent oil for July delivery slid 0.5 percent to finish at $106.99. GBP Following a downgrade of 16 Spanish banks, ...

Dukascopy Fundamental Analysis EUR Mario Draghi, the ECB President, insisted on Greece to stay in the Euro bloc during his public speech on Wednesday regarding the possibility of Greece withdrawal from the Eurozone. Nevertheless, according to him, the ECB will stick to its anti-inflation mandate. The ECB President's comments came after Irish and Belgian central banks reported that Greek exit would not be disastrous for the Eurozone. USD Jobless claims in the U.S. didn't live up to the expectations that it will decrease by 5K and remained unchanged, 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 states or territory's reported ...

Fundamental Analysis EUR "Germany is holding up the rest of the euro zone”" - Nick Kounis, head of macroeconomic research at ABN Amro Germany helped the Eurozone avoid its second recession in three years. Overall gross domestic product stagnated in the first three months of 2012, compared to the previous quarter, Eurostat data showed on Tuesday. USD "There’s a lot of slack in the economy" - Scott Brown, chief economist at Raymond James & Associates Inc. Inflation in the U.S. stagnated in April, restrained by a decline in energy costs. The core consumer price index, which excludes food and energy costs, rose 0.2 per cent, showed Bureau of Labor Statistics data on Tuesday. GBP "March's UK trade figures showed a bit of an improvement, although the external sector still looks likely to ...

Fundamental Analysis EUR Spain's credit rating was lowered by Standard & Poor's for a second time in 2012 on enduring worries the nation will have to apply additional fiscal backing to lenders as the economy shrinks. S&P cut its long term grade for Spain from A to BBB+ adding a negative outlook. Country's short term rating was lowered from A-1 to A-2, S&P agency reported on Thursday. USD Crude oil price declined from almost 4-week high in New York trade after S&P ratings agency cut Spain's sovereign credit rating, boosting concerns that further recession in Europe may halt demand for crude. Oil to be delivered in June lost USD 0.61, reaching USD 103.94 a barrel. June Brent oil gave up USD 0.49 and traded at USD 119.43 a barrel. GBP Today the Great Britain Pound extended its gains ...

Fundamental Analysis EUR Deutsche Bank, the German biggest lender posted a 33% drop in its first quarter profit, citing debt crisis as a negative force that curbed trading. Net income declined to EUR 1.38 billion (USD 1.82 billion) compared to EUR 2.06 billion in the same period last year. Economists questioned by Bloomberg expected the profit to decrease less to EUR 1.56 billion. Deutsche Bank shares have added 16% this year. USD Crude oil fluctuated close to a one-week record high as Fed claimed they expect the economic growth to advance, encouraging the speculation that fuel demand will increase. Moreover Iran announced it may stop its nuclear expansion. June crude traded at USD 104.07 a barrel after climbing USD 0.57 yesterday. Brent oil to be delivered in June traded at USD 119 a ...

Fundamental Analysis EUR "There’s a bit of risk back on after some positive company numbers helped stocks and improved the tone of the markets" - Eric Wand, a fixed-income strategist at Lloyds Banking Group Plc Demand for Spanish and Italian debt rose, pushing Spanish and Italian bonds higher, as investors turned to higher-yielding assets after companies from Apple to Swedbank reported better than forecast earnings. USD "The committee expects economic growth to remain moderate over coming quarters and then to pick up gradually" - Federal Open Market Committee U.S. durable goods orders tumbled below forecast in March, a sign the manufacturing sector may be losing momentum. Bookings for long lasting goods dropped 4.2 percent, said the Commerce Department on Wednesday. GBP " could be ...

Fundamental Analysis EUR "Equities are stronger than in the fall, as central banks have moved to support the market with liquidity and removing the structural risks to banks" - Hans Peterson, the chief investment officer of SEB Private Bank Industrial new orders in the euro zone declined by more than forecast in February, Eurostat data showed on Tuesday. Orders decreased by a seasonally adjusted 1.3 per cent, after declining 2.9 per cent in January. USD "Overall, consumers are more upbeat about the state of the economy, but they remain cautiously optimistic" - Lynn Franco, director of the Conference Board Consumer Research Center U.S. consumer confidence declined in April as consumers became slightly less optimistic on the outlook of the country’s economy, the Conference Board Inc. ...

Dukascopy Fundamental Analysis EUR Dutch Premier Mark Rutte offered his minority coalition's resignation after his cabinet lost backing from Freedom Party caused by disagreements over deficit cut plans. The Freedom Party supported PM Rutte for about 18 months. Political uncertainty in the Netherlands cause boost concerns across whole Europe as the Netherlands was one of the nations than strongly favoured European Union fiscal treaty and in case of political collapse may turn to less EU-supportive policies. USD S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city composite index dropped to its lowest level since 2002, representing the cheapest house prices in a decade. Among 20 cities observed in the index, in 16 house prices have contracted while only three showed an increase. GBP Great Britain reported a bigger ...

Fundamental Analysis EUR "Today's dismal PMI figures clearly indicate that the euro zone economy remains in dire straits" - Martin Van Vliet, senior economist at ING The euro zone’s manufacturing contracted in April, a sign the economy is far from out of the woods. The purchasing managers index declined to 47.9 from 49.2 in March, Markit data showed on Monday. Reading below 50.0 indicates industry contraction. USD "There’s more work to be done in Europe" - Mark Bronzo, a fund manager at Guggenheim Investments U.S. stocks declined after data showed that manufacturing contracted in the euro zone. GBP "Political developments in Europe are weighing on indices" - Rupert Osborne, a futures dealer at IG Index U.K. stocks declined sharply on Monday after manufacturing in the single currency ...