Positions Were Trimmed

Canada's Economy Turns the Hiring Machine Back on -58,200 jobs created in April 2012, beating the consensus forecast for a 10,000 increase. - Unemployment rate inched up to 7.3% from 7.2% in March as the labour force grew by 72,500. -April marked the second monthly increase in employment and boosted the tally of job gains so far this year to 140,000 or an average monthly gain of 35,000 jobs. This result beat the 29,000 average monthly increase recorded in early 2011 and far exceeds the 8,000 per month pace recorded in the next eight months of that year. This stepped up pace of job creation is more consistent with an economy that grew at an above-potential 2.5% rate last year and is on track to grow at a 1.8% pace in the first quarter of 2012. The weaker performance in first- ...

The euro ground higher against the dollar and the yen on Monday, recovering from stumbles earlier in the session as the effects of disappointing U.S. jobs data last week faded, although thin holiday trading exacerbated moves. Data on U.S. jobs creation came in sharply lower than expected on Friday, when stock markets were closed and bond markets closed early. While foreign exchange markets were open, the Good Friday holiday had made for particularly light volume. "There's maybe a bit of a soft tone in the dollar on the jobs report," said Mark McCormick, a G-10 currency strategist with Brown Brothers Harriman. But, he cautioned, "price action has been pretty muted." With many European markets still closed on Monday - including London, a major currency trading hub - analysts said the ...

Asian shares fell and U.S. stock futures pointed lower on Monday in holiday-thinned trade after a sharp slowdown in U.S. jobs growth raised concerns about the strength of the world's largest economy. Oil, which has climbed nearly $20 this year on worries that a standoff between Tehran and the West would escalate and disrupt oil exports from the Middle East, dropped more than a dollar after Tehran agreed to resume talks on its nuclear program. Brent crude was down $1.19 a barrel to $122.24 by 1110 GMT after slipping below $122 earlier in the day. U.S. oil traded $1.46 a barrel lower at $101.85. "The talks are good news. They are going to ease some stress from the oil market but not enough to bring oil below its current trading range," said Ken Hasegawa, a commodity derivatives manager at ...

(Reuters) - The euro hovered within shouting distance of a three-week trough on the yen and the dollar on Thursday after a poor Spanish bond auction reignited jitters about the euro zone debt crisis, while commodity currencies were a shade stronger after a sell-off. The euro and risk currencies have been under pressure against the dollar, which climbed broadly after Fed policy meeting minutes released on Tuesday showed the central bank was becoming less eager to print more money to bolster the economy. The euro, which dropped nearly 1 percent to $1.3107 on Wednesday, last stood at $1.3150, up 0.1 percent on the day. Immediate support for the currency loomed around $1.3094, the 76.4 percent retracement of the mid-to-late March rise. "The weaker Spanish auctions on Wednesday provide a ...

(Reuters) - Manufacturing strengthened in the United States and China in March while the euro zone contracted for the eighth straight month, underlining the uneven pace of global economic growth. The Institute for Supply Management said on Monday its index of U.S. factory activity rose to 53.4 from 52.4, topping economists' expectations. Factory activity also strengthened in leading Asian exporters China, South Korea and Taiwan, although output was still far from robust. Reports from the euro zone, which is teetering on the brink of recession, showed the downturn in the region's smaller nations has spread to core countries Germany and France, according to purchasing managers' indexes (PMIs) for March. The outlook was grim as new orders fell across the region for the 10th month. "We are ...

(Reuters) - Oil slipped below $123 a barrel on Monday, following a 14 percent rise in the first quarter, as economic contraction in Europe outweighed a brighter outlook in China and global supply concerns. The euro zone's manufacturing sector shrank for an eighth month in March, according to Markit's Eurozone Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index. In contrast, China's official Purchasing Managers' Index hit an 11-month high in March. Brent crude slipped 44 cents to $122.44 a barrel by 1040 GMT. It ended the first quarter up 14.3 percent, its biggest quarterly rise since the first quarter of 2011. U.S. crude fell by 53 cents to $102.49. "We had some slightly positive Chinese data. The market is drifting in this broad sideways range, but Iran will keep it above $120," said Christopher ...

World stocks slipped and core government bonds steadied on Wednesday as investors trimmed positions before the end of a first quarter that has seen abundant central bank liquidity and improving economic data buoy a range of assets. Such shifts were also evident in foreign exchange markets, where the yen's gains against the dollar was accentuated by Japanese exporters' sales of foreign currency before the March 31 end to Japan's fiscal year. While European stocks fought a losing battle to stay in positive territory, futures indicated that U.S. stocks would open higher. With comments this week by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke keeping alive speculation about further U.S. monetary stimulus, analysts predicted U.S. data would be a focal point. "The focus remains on growth indicators, ...

Crude futures edged up on Monday as comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke reinforced expectations that interest rates will be kept low and as strong gasoline futures provided lift to the oil complex. Bernanke said the U.S. economy needs to grow more quickly to bring the unemployment rate down further, defending the central bank's policy of very low interest rates. While he gave no indication the Fed intended to start on a third round of bond purchases, Bernanke also made clear the central bank is in no rush to reverse course after responding aggressively to a deep recession. Bernanke's comments weighed on the dollar by reinforcing hopes for more quantitative easing and lessening expectations that interest rates might be raised any time soon. Ahead of weekly reports on U.S. ...

(Reuters) - The euro climbed to a more than one-week high against the dollar on Monday after an orderly auction of Greek default insurance supported views that Greece's threat to the euro zone has diminished. The euro also gained against the yen, hitting its strongest level in the almost five months since the Bank of Japan intervened to stem the currency's advance. Investors unwound bearish bets on the euro and focused on a Greek credit default swap auction that set the payout for holders of CDS totaling about 3.2 billion euros. The auction fixed a fair value price of 21.5 cents on the euro for Greek bonds, within expectations. That means an owner of Greek CDS would be paid 78.5 cents on the euro, which analysts said was enough to compensate for the roughly 75 percent loss investors ...