Based On Traders Cutting

Euro hits fresh 2012 lows ahead of informal summit; More reports of an ECB contingency plan in the works Economic Data (GR) Greece Mar Current Account: -€2.1B v €1.1B prior (NL) Netherlands Mar Consumer Spending Y/Y: % v -1.3% prior (SE) Sweden Apr Unemployment Rate: % v 7.8%e (EU) Euro Zone Apr Current Account: +€7.5B v -€5.6B prior; Current Account Seasonally Adj: +€7.5B v -€1.2B prior (IT) Italy May Consumer Confidence: 86.5 v 89.5e (lowest reading on record after series began in 1996)) (ZA) South Africa Apr CPI (all items) M/M: 0.4% v 0.5%e; Y/Y: % v 6.2%e (TW) Taiwan Apr Industrial Production Y/Y: -2.3% v -1.7%e; Commercial Sales Y/Y: -2.4% v -0.9% prior (UK) Apr Retail Sales Ex Auto Fuel M/M: -1.0% v -0.7%e; Y/Y: -0.3% v +0.7%e (UK) Apr Retail Sales with Auto Fuel M/M: -0.8% ...

Oil prices fell on Friday in tug-of-war trading, posting a 2012 low and a third straight weekly loss as debt problems in Greece and Spain kept concerns about the euro zone economy in focus. Crude futures felt pressure from news that European officials were working on contingency plans in case Greece exits the euro zone and from a ratings downgrade of 16 Spanish banks by Moody's Investors Service. Helping push oil lower early was data showing Chinese home prices in April fell for a second month in a row from year-ago levels. "The problems in Europe, highlighted by the political instability in Greece, remain as the primary factor for today's slide in oil prices," said Kyle Cooper, managing partner at IAF Advisors in Houston. "There is also a factual realization that the Chinese economy ...

Base metal markets slid on Tuesday, with copper prices in New York notching their biggest fall in a month, as fears that Greece's hard-fought bailout deal could unravel hit the euro and raised concerns about demand for industrial metals. European jitters roiled broader markets too, with gold shedding almost 2 percent and crude oil futures dropping almost 1 percent. U.S. stocks hit two-month lows and the euro fell for a seventh straight session. The dollar rose and U.S. Treasuries rallied on safe-haven buying. Funds and institutional investors led selling in metals markets, cutting exposure to assets considered risky and seeking to raise cash, traders said. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) ended at $8,095 a tonne, down almost 1 percent from Friday's close of $8,175 a ...

The European morning session has been fairly volatile for FX markets, with the euro starting off looking fairly well supported at 1.32 and then falling through the floor on the back of some weak Eurozone economic data. The first blow to the single currency came from Germany where it was reported that the unemployment rate jumped by 19,000 in April and the unemployment rate had been revised up to 6.8% from 6.7% for March, which is where it remained last month. This is the largest increase in German unemployment for three years. Although a German labour market official said the decline could be down to the timing of Easter, it was enough to spook the markets. Not such a two-speed economy? The other blow to hit the market was the fall in the German manufacturing PMI survey to 46.2, the ...

(Reuters) - The dollar briefly fell to a two-month low against a basket of currencies on Monday, hurt by signs that the U.S. economic recovery was losing momentum, which keeps alive the chances of further monetary easing by the Federal Reserve. Despite the dollar's problems, the euro failed to gain much traction, with investors looking to sell at higher levels as harsh austerity measures take a toll on economic activity across the region. Spain slipped back into recession as gross domestic product shrank 0.3 percent in the January to March quarter, data showed on Monday. Traders were likely to be wary of the euro ahead of the second round of the French presidential vote as well as elections for a new Greek parliament next weekend. The dollar .DXY touched 78.638 against a basket of ...

(Reuters) - The dollar fell to a two-month low against a basket of currencies on Monday, weighed down after modest first quarter growth in the U.S. economy kept alive chances of further monetary easing by the Federal Reserve. The dollar is likely to come under more pressure if data, including U.S. jobs numbers, this week disappoints. U.S. growth cooled in the first quarter partly due to businesses cutting back on investments, reinforcing the central bank's contention that interest rates should be kept near zero through 2014. The slowdown fuelled speculation that the Fed may eventually launch another bond buying program, or a third round of quantitative easing. That would likely have a negative effect on the dollar while giving riskier assets like stocks, commodities and higher-yielding ...

What to Expect in Tomorrow's UK Q1 GDP Data On the eve of the UK GDP release for the first quarter that will confirm whether or not the UK managed to avoid a technical recession, it is worth taking stock of the actual "strength" of the UK economy as move towards the middle of the year. Overall, the biggest disappointment so far this year has been construction data, which may have contracted by approximately 10% in the first quarter. Construction is roughly 7% of UK GDP, so a contraction of this size could easily dent overall growth figures. Close behind comes industrial and manufacturing data. IP fell at a 2.3% annual rate in February and manufacturing data has declined four months out of the last five. Although the pick-up in PMI data suggests that things may have improved in March, the ...

(Reuters) - Brent crude rebounded above $123 on Friday after a sharp sell-off in the previous session, as rising tensions between Iran and the West fuelled an oil rally that has forced Western leaders to prepare a release of their strategic oil reserves. Brent crude rose 48 cents to $123.08 a barrel by 0520 GMT, after settling down nearly $2 the previous session following a Reuters report that Britain and the United States were preparing to tap into their oil reserves. U.S. crude climbed 36 cents to $105.47. "We think that prices probably will continue to grind higher as we get closer to the sanctions deadline," said Jeremy Friesen, commodity strategist at Societe Generale in Hong Kong. The sanctions vice was tightening on Iran, cutting it out of key global financial networks, but ...

(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 ...