Softening Euro As

(Reuters) - Oil futures fell more than 2 percent on Wednesday to five-month lows, as a potential nuclear deal between Iran and the West eased supply concerns and worries about Greece's future in the euro zone raised questions about demand. Further pressure came from U.S. government data that showed weak demand and the ninth straight weekly build in domestic crude inventories, extending the stockpile buffer as the world's largest consumer gears up for the start of the summer driving season. "One aspect of the (U.S. Energy Information Administration) report stands out: The demand side is very poor, particularly the implied demand for gasoline and that is not good ahead of the Memorial Day holiday that starts the summer driving season," said Addison Armstrong, director of market ...

(Reuters) - World shares fell and Germany sold two-year bonds paying virtually no interest on Wednesday as investors shunned riskier assets, doubting that any new measures to tackle the euro zone debt crisis would emerge from a European leaders summit. Concerns the latest EU summit could be a failure sent the euro to a 21-month low, put an end to a rally in European equities, and sent yields on Spanish and Italian bonds higher. But investors bid strongly at an auction of safe-haven two-year German government bonds resulting in a yield of just 0.07 percent, while the dollar, measured against other major currencies .DXY hit a high not seen since September 2010. The leaders are expected to discuss boosting growth at their meeting later on Wednesday and the idea of a joint euro zone bond. ...

(Reuters) - Oil fell on Wednesday on growing hopes of a deal between Iran and the U.N. nuclear watchdog, which eased fears of oil supply disruption, while concerns over the debt crisis in the euro zone and a slowing Chinese economy weighed on demand. The U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency expects to sign a deal with Iran soon to unblock investigations into suspected work on nuclear bombs in the oil-producing country. This improved the prospects for talks with Tehran to stop a drift towards conflict. Brent crude fell $1.39 to $107.02 per barrel. U.S. July crude fell $1.08 to $90.77. Brent crude oil has fallen from a peak of $128.40 at the start of May and is down 12.9 percent this quarter, its biggest such drop since the fourth quarter of 2008. Analysts said they believe there ...

Crude oil climbs up today after many sessions of declining as the EU oil embargo for Iranian oil is on the verge, but the G8 leaders agreed together to pump the emergency oil reserves and there will be extra supply if sanctions on Iran lead to a surge in prices. Crude oil opened today’s session at $91.34 and reached so far a high of $92.17 and a low of $90.17, where it is currently trading around $91.95 a barrel. In fact, crude found a slight support from the summit’s outcome which raised the pressure on European leaders to act more seriously and effectively to fight the crisis and try to keep Greece in the bloc if it meets all the commitments. The main support which been behind this upside momentum for crude is China, as it could take new steps to stimulate growth. The Chinese ...

(Reuters) - Brent crude rose towards $108 per barrel on Monday, recovering from a 2012 low, on hopes China could take steps to stimulate growth and lift fuel demand at the world's second largest oil user, although concerns about the euro zone crisis capped gains. China's premier called for additional efforts to support growth on Sunday, while Goldman Sachs said world oil demand was growing despite recent weak economic data. The comments proved to be a bright spot for oil markets, battered in the past weeks by fears Greece's political turmoil could spread to other countries in Europe. Brent crude rose for the first time in four sessions, adding 68 cents to $107.82 a barrel by 0620 GMT. Front-month prices slipped to a 2012 low on Friday. In the last three weeks, Brent has shed almost 11 ...

The Week Ahead Highlights Europe steps closer to the cliff edge Can the USD extend its rally? Bank of Japan may extend maturity of its bond buys Pricing in more QE from the Bank of England Europe steps closer to the cliff edge It was a pivotal week for the Eurozone after Greece announced that it was heading back to the polls after the top three parities failed to form a coalition government. So now Greece is leaderless, there is a caretaker government in place but it won't be able to enforce the austerity required to get the next tranche of bailout funds necessary for Greece to avoid running out of money in July. So as time runs out for Greece the European authorities have been clear: the upcoming election is a referendum on euro-membership. Either vote for pro bailout ...

Signs that Bearish Sentiment May be Wearing a Bit Thin The Facebook IPO today has temporarily knocked Europe from the headlines as the world's eyes are focused on the Nasdaq at 1430 GMT/ 0930 ET when Facebook will start trading for the first time. CNBC anchors have been wearing honorary hoodies to mark the occasion so it must be big. I still find it hard to reconcile how FB is worth $140 billion when the site is used by both advertisers and cyber bullies, but perhaps I'm missing the point. The point today is that it is the third largest IPO in the US ever, Zuckerberg will be a gaszillionaire and U2's Bono is likely to earn $1.5bn from his initial $90 million investment. Facebook might not change the trading world, but it could change the Forbes rich list quite dramatically. Could ...

Consolidation Continues Post The Spanish Bond Auction The big event of the morning was the Spanish bond auction, however it failed to generate anything more than an immediate ripple in the FX market. The auction raised just below the top of its target amount of EU2.5bn, at EU 2.49bn. Although demand was strong, Madrid had to pay up to attract investors to its debt. The yield on the 2015 debt it sold jumped to 4.375% vs. 2.89% at an auction in April, the 2016 debt sold with a yield of 4.876% vs. 4.037% at an auction earlier this month. Will Germany soften its stance? In the aftermath, EURUSD is down about 20 pips but it remains above 1.27, while Spanish bond yields have actually fallen. The consolidation period in the market may continue as we lead up to the G8 summit in the US this ...

Stocks fell on Monday as investors dealt with the one-two punch of worsening political upheaval in the euro zone and the possibility that China's economy may be softening more than previously thought. The S&P 500 finished lower for the fourth day of five to close at its lowest level since February, adding fuel to worries of a coming market correction. Economically sensitive shares, including banks and energy companies, paced the decline. Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) lost 1.2 percent to $82.12. The NYSEArca oil index .XOI fell 1.8 percent. State television in Greece reported the president of the fiscally beleaguered country will continue talks on forming a coalition government, although Socialist leader Evangelos Venizelos said on Monday he was not optimistic that a government could be ...