Comments Markets Finished

Yen gains after BOJ stands pat; World Bank cuts China outlook, April lending looks weak; EUR falls on Papademos "grexit" mention Economic Data (JP) BANK OF JAPAN (BOJ) LEAVES TARGET RATE RANGE UNCHANGED BETWEEN 0.0% TO 0.10% (AS EXPECTED); Keeps economic assessment unchanged; Maintains asset purchase fund at ¥70T (JP) JAPAN APR MERCHANDISE TRADE BALANCE TOTAL: -¥520B V -¥471BE; ADJUSTED: -¥480B V -¥617BE (US) NORTH AMERICA SEMI EQUIPMENT INDUSTRY APR SALES BOOK TO BILL RATIO: 1.10 V 1.13 PRIOR (3RD CONSECUTIVE MONTH ABOVE PARITY, 1st decline in 7 months) (AU) AUSTRALIA APR DEWR INTERNET SKILLED VACANCIES M/M: -0.8% V -0.5% PRIOR (4-month low) (AU) AUSTRALIA MAR WESTPAC LEADING INDEX M/M: 0.4% V 0.0% PRIOR (AU) AUSTRALIA MAR CONFERENCE BOARD LEADING INDEX M/M: +0.2% V 0.0% PRIOR (SG) ...

(Reuters) - Crude oil futures rose on Thursday as a solid pickup in U.S. home sales added to economic optimism following the U.S. Federal Reserve's vow a day earlier that it would take further stimulus action if needed to keep the recovery going. In volatile trade, oil gave up early gains after a weak report on jobless claims, then rebounded to session highs on the housing data. Oil advanced with a broad rise in key commodities, such as copper, reflected in a 0.40 percent gain in the Thomson Reuters-Jefferies CRB index .CRB. Overall, oil's gains were limited as data showed economic sentiment in the euro zone fell more than expected in April. As was the case on Wednesday, the oil markets received support from stronger equities and, to some extent, a weakened dollar, which improved ...

Spain's bond auction demand was overly sufficient but yields were mixed Economic Data (RU) Russia Gold & Forex Reserve w/e Apr 13th: $518.8B v $516.7B prior (DK) Denmark Apr Consumer Confidence: +0.6 v +1.5e (HU) Hungary Feb Avg Gross Wages Y/Y: 6.9% v 6.0%e (NL) Netherlands Mar Unemployment Rate: 5.9% v 5.9% prior (PH) Philippines Mar Balance of Payments: -$209.0M v +$588M prior (GR) Greece Feb Current Account: -€1.1B v -€1.5B prior (IT) Italy Feb Industrial Orders M/M: -2.5% v -1.1%e; Y/Y: -13.2% v -6.2%e (IT) Italy Feb Industrial Sales M/M: +2.3% v -4.9% prior; Y/Y: -1.5% v -4.4% prior (PH) Philippines Central Bank left its Overnight Borrowing Rate unchanged at 4.00%; as expected (HK) Hong Kong Mar Unemployment Rate: 3.4% v 3.5%e Fixed Income (ES) Spain Debt Agency (Tesoro) sold ...

The dollar bounced off a 10-day low against the yen on Monday, scooped up on the dip by Japan importers after it found support on the charts, although doubts lingered about the greenback's strength after a rally in the U.S. bond yields took a breather. The dollar muscled in on the Japanese currency, pushing it lower against other units such as the euro and the Australian dollar, while commodity currencies were broadly steady after a hammering last week on worries of slowing demand for resources. "Even though the dollar rally on the yen has lost a bit of momentum, the dollar is still strong after it didn't break below 81.97 support twice in the last two weeks," said Teppei Ino, currency strategist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ in Tokyo. "I wouldn't expect Japanese repatriation flows to ...

(Reuters) - Oil prices traded sideways at around $111.40 a barrel on Monday as uncertainty around Iranian crude exports to Europe continued to provide support and markets awaited a deal on Greek debt. Brent crude futures were down 4 cents to $111.42 a barrel by 1241 GMT and U.S. crude was down 46 cents at $99.09 a barrel. Both contracts gained more than 1 percent last week. "Brent has been more resilient because of what is happening in the Middle East," said Michael Hewson, an analyst at CMC Markets. "But oil is basically trading in a range. There's a little bit of ebb and flow but not much driving it." Olivier Jakob, an oil analyst at Petromatrix in Switzerland, agreed: "Crude oil is trading a very small price range, historical volatility is dropping, volume is low, and speculators are ...

(Reuters) - Oil prices retreated on Monday, dipping below $111 a barrel after an expected Iranian vote to suspend crude exports to Europe was postponed and markets continued to wait for a deal on Greek debt. Brent crude futures were down 55 cents to $110.91 a barrel by 4:19 a.m. ET and U.S. crude was down 75 cents at $98.81 a barrel. Both contracts gained more than 1 percent last week. Analysts and traders said that prices had retreated a little after an Iranian parliamentary vote expected on Sunday proposing the immediate suspension of crude oil exports to the European Union did not go ahead. Lawmakers had raised the possibility of turning the tables on the EU which will implement its own embargo on Iranian oil by July as it tightens sanctions on Tehran over the nuclear program. "The ...

Morning Briefing : Big test for Euro-Zone Credibility This Week What's new: Europe: EUR rose on Friday, but has sold off in Asia. US: Growth figures fall a tad short of expectations, but still triggering a risk-rally. Asia: Risky assets selling off ahead of EU-Summit. Forex rates in Asia and Indices: EURUSD: 1.3221 – 1.3136. USDCHF: 0.9176 – 0.9126. GBPUSD: 1.5733 - 1.5673. EURJPY: 101.45 – 100.73. USDJPY: 76.77 – 76.65. Dow Jones: 12’660.46 -0.58% NASDAQ: 2'816.55 +0.4% S & P 500: 1'316.33 -0.16% Nikkei: 8’793.05 -0.54% Shanghai: 2'285.04 Gold: $ 1'729.20 Crude Oil: $ 98.83 Comments: Markets finished last week on a strong note, despite US GDP falling a tad short of market expectations and the EUR/USD took home its second weekly gain, buoyed by last week’s dovish Fed, risk taking ...

Weekly Economic and Financial Commentary : 21/01/2012 U.S. Review Good News on Manufacturing, Inflation and Housing The manufacturing sector remains on solid footing. Manufacturing output rose more than expected in December. Furthermore, the New York Fed manufacturing index showed the sector gained strength in January and the outlook improved further. Headline inflation continues to moderate. Producer and consumer prices both declined in December on falling food and energy prices. However, the recent rise in core inflation could tie the Fed's hands on monetary policy. Existing home sales, the housing market index and mortgage applications rose, while housing starts fell. Manufacturing on Solid Footing Industrial production rose 0.4 percent in December following a 0.3 ...

FUNDAMENTAL OUTLOOK at 0800 GMT (EDT +0400) USD Japan’s Finance Minister Azumi spoke but, unlike yesterday, did not mention EURJPY specifically. Intervention was still on his mind though. He said it would be hard for Japan to emulate the Swiss approach and defend a particular line in the sand, noting that the supply of yen in global markets is vast. This is the first time this idea has been so firmly rejected. He warned though that Japan stood ready to take firm steps against speculative FX moves. In Europe, the IIF is expected to resume debt talks with Greece today for a satisfactory conclusion on PSI involvement. The closer to the relevant deadlines the parties involved get, the bigger the risk of a large selloff if talks ultimately fail. Greece has already been talking openly about ...