Gasoline Demand Continues

U.S. Review To QE3 or Not To QE3: That is the Question - Some market participants are beginning to speculate about another round of quantitative easing. Although recent growth indicators have not been particularly stellar, the economy is still growing. Moreover, core CPI inflation in the neighborhood of 2 percent means that the threshold for more QE is relatively high. - Overall, indicators were positive during the week. Housing starts increased by 2.6 percent in April, the Empire Manufacturing index improved to 17.09 in May from a 6.56 print in April and retail sales printed a 0.1 percent increase in April, in line with expectations. To QE3 or Not To QE3: That is the Question QE3 seems to have more lives that a cat; it comes back into the forefront of the U.S. economy discussion ...

U.S. Review Modest Growth on a Broadening Base - The underlying tone of the recent economic reports remains consistent with modest economic growth. Consumer spending ended the first quarter on a solid note and spending is now on track to grow at a 2 percent pace in the second quarter. - Reports from the regional manufacturing surveys showed some weakness but the National ISM report came in stronger than expected. The nonmanufacturing survey, however, came in below expectations. - Nonfarm employment rose by 115,000 jobs in April and the unemployment rate fell 0.1 percent to 8.1 percent. Modest Growth on a Broadening Base This week's ISM report came in better than expected, rising 1.4 points to 54.8 in April, which greatly relieves fears built up from the weaker factory orders ...

U.S. Review Look Past the Monthly Volatility and See the Trend This week of economic releases painted a somewhat mixed picture, but the underlying trend still reflects an economy that is growing at a modest pace. The milder-than-usual winter likely brought some activity forward and below-consensus readings are due in part to payback. Housing starts, existing home sales and industrial production all posted disappointing readings in March that are likely not indicative of the underlying trend. Headline retail sales, however, came in more than double the consensus estimate in March, ending the first quarter on a positive note. Early Spring Brings Payback Period The full week of economic releases painted a somewhat mixed picture, but the underlying trend still reflects an economy ...

(Reuters) - Brent crude fell below $120 on Monday as growing worries about the global economy from Europe to China, the world's No. 2 oil consumer, reinforced concerns about slowing demand for petroleum. But the slide in crude prices was stemmed by lingering concerns that western sanctions could further disrupt Iranian oil exports. Front-month Brent crude slipped $1.28 to $119.93 a barrel by 0731 GMT, after settling at $121.21 a barrel on Friday. U.S. oil slipped 79 cents to $102.05 a barrel after settling at $102.83. "The weaker-than-expected Chinese data appears to be the key driver of the market right now," said Tetsu Emori, a Tokyo-based commodities fund manager at Astmax Investments. Data showed that China's economy grew at the slowest pace in nearly three years in the first ...

(Reuters) - Brent crude fell below $120 on Monday as growing worries about the global economy from Europe to China, the world's No. 2 oil consumer, reinforced concerns about slowing demand for petroleum. But the slide in crude prices was stemmed by lingering concerns that western sanctions could further disrupt Iranian oil exports. Front-month Brent crude slipped $1.28 to $119.93 a barrel by 3:31 a.m. Eastern Time, after settling at $121.21 a barrel on Friday. U.S. oil slipped 79 cents to $102.05 a barrel after settling at $102.83. "The weaker-than-expected Chinese data appears to be the key driver of the market right now," said Tetsu Emori, a Tokyo-based commodities fund manager at Astmax Investments. Data showed that China's economy grew at the slowest pace in nearly three years in ...

Weekly Economic and Financial Commentary U.S. Review A Rough Start To April Another week of softer U.S. economic data weighed on market sentiment this week. More hints of slower economic growth are appearing in the data, consistent with our forecast that U.S. GDP growth slows to a 2.8 percent annualized pace in the first quarter and continues slowing to a sub 2 percent annualized pace in the second. Initial jobless claims jumped by 13,000 in the first week of April. February imports plunged 2.7 percent, small business confidence fell in March for the first time in seven months and core inflation is on the rise. A Rough Start to April United States economic data releases so far this month have not been kind to the bulls on Wall Street. The poor March payroll report rattled some ...

Gold steadied on Wednesday, after rising for four days straight, as the intensifying euro zone debt crisis threatened to undermine the euro and offset any potential safe-haven demand for the metal. The euro rose on Wednesday but has come under pressure in the past week as the debt crisis has reignited. The focus is now on Spain, where the head of the central bank said on Tuesday commercial banks would need more capital if the economy continues to deteriorate. Benchmark 10-year Spanish yields touched 6 percent for the first time since early December on Wednesday, having risen by more than two-thirds of a percentage point in the past week alone, while peripheral banking stocks have been pummeled. Spot gold was last down 0.1 percent on the day at $1,658.16 an ounce by 1224 GMT, while U.S. ...

(Reuters) - Veteran oil trader Andy Hall said he is betting that a release of emergency oil stockpiles by consumer nations will not provide any lasting relief to high prices, with OPEC spare capacity reduced to a "wafer thin" margin by year-end. Although his $5 billion Astenbeck Capital Management LLC fund trimmed its exposure to commodity markets in March after a run-up in prices earlier in the year, Hall remains confidently bullish and may add to his positions if prices fall much further, he said in a letter to investors this week. Astenbeck is up nearly 13 percent through February this year, according to figures contained in the March letter, more than recovering from last year's 4 percent decline, Hall's first loss in more than a decade. The average energy hedge fund was up 7.5 ...

Fundamental Analysis EUR The jobless rate in Spain advanced by 0.8% or 38,769 in March reaching 4.75 million, government officials said on Tuesday. Annual unemployment level added 9.6% in March. In February Spain's jobless rate of 23.6% was the top level in the European Union. Spain currently works on massive reforms in its labour market. Economists expected the unemployment my surge even more before it will begin to decline. USD US manufacturing PMI expanded more than expected last month, indicating growth for the 32th month in line. The PMI measured by the Institute for Supply Management jumped by 1.0 point attaining 53.4 last month as compared to a February figure of 52.4. Experts had predicted the manufacturing PMI in the US to expand by 0.6 points to 53.0. GBP UK manufacturing ...