Strengthens Amid Concerns

Fundamental Analysis EUR "The overall manufacturing trend remains weak." - Pierre-Olivier Beffy, chief economist at Exane BNP Paribas French industrial production fell in March, said the national statistics office Insee on Thursday. Output contracted 0.9 per cent from February, when it gained 0.2 per cent. USD "It’s hard to get nervous that imports are rising." - Dean Maki, chief U.S. economist at Barclays Capital Inc. The number of Americans claiming for unemployment benefits fell to 367,000 in the week ended May 5 from 368,000 the week before, said the Department of Labor on Thursday. GBP "Our forecast is that they are done with QE, but you can’t rule out more later this year." - Ross Walker, an economist at Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc The Bank of England kept rates on hold ...

Fundamental Analysis EUR "The real concern isn’t about Greece, it’s about the euro and whether it breaks up -- that is key." - Mark Tinker, a fund manager at AXA Framlington Investment EUR Management European stocks declined on Wednesday as investors awaited resolution of Greek coalition talks and yields on Spanish 10-year bonds rose above 6 per cent. USD "Certainly as a result of the elections in Greece, the odds of a default and an exit from the euro have increased." - James Dunigan, chief investment officer for PNC Wealth Management U.S. wholesale inventories rose in March at a slowest pace since November, Commerce Department data showed on Wednesday. GBP "Consumers, struggling to balance their household budgets, remain reluctant to spend..." - Stephen Robertson, BRC director ...

Fundamental Analysis EUR Unemployment in Spain approached a new record of 5.64 million in March while the jobless rate topped 24.4%, reported the national statistics office. Analysts expect the Spain's officials to confirm that the country is falling into recession. Meanwhile, retail sales in the country declined by 3.7% in March on an annual basis. USD US consumer spending surged in March, adding to the previous gains as incomes increased. Household purchases that account about 70% of the US economy surged by 0.3%, following a 0.9% increase in February. Experts projected consumer spending to rise by 0.4%. Meanwhile, incomes eased up 0.4%, indicating the largest increase in the last three months. GBP UK home value accelerated in April, the second straight month, Hometrack Ltd said on ...

Fundamental Analysis EUR "Yes, the economy avoided falling off the cliff, but it is still flirting with recession" - Carsten Brzeski, senior economist at ING Group An index of German investor confidence unexpectedly rose to 23.4 in April from 22.3 in March, said the ZEW Centre for European Economic Research on Tuesday. USD "Housing continues to bump along the bottom”" - Jacob Oubina, a senior U.S. economist at RBC Capital Markets LLC U.S. housing starts fell in March but building permits rose to highest level since 2009, Commerce Department data showed on Tuesday. Groundbreakings declined to an annual rate of 0.65 million, while permits advanced to 0.75 million. GBP "There seems to be a little bit of payback from the previous couple of months’ brisker growth" - Philip Rush, an ...

Fundamental Analysis EUR The 17-nation currency depreciated versus its US counterpart and Japanese currency ahead of Spanish debt sale on Tuesday. The Euro shed 0.2% versus US Dollar to USD 1.3110 and gave up also 0.2% against Yen to JPY 105.42. Currently EUR/USD is trading at USD 1.3110 and EUR/JPY is trading at JPY 105.41. USD China has raised its US debt holding for the second consecutive month as country's foreign exchange portion continued to advance. China purchased 12.7 billion US dollars of the US Treasuries in February thus boosting the debt holding to 1,178.9 billion US Dollars, according to the US Treasury Department. Chinese foreign exchange reserves gained 3.9% in Q1 on an annual basis. GBP FTSE 100 index rallied on Tuesday as Spanish successfully auctioned bonds and US ...

Fundamental Analysis EUR "Market stresses will eventually force the ECB to restart the bond program" - Market stresses will eventually force the ECB to restart the bond program The European Central Bank is expected to restart government bond purchases rather than proceed with another round of long term refinancing operation. USD "Disposable incomes of consumers are still being squeezed. That does make it difficult for consumption to accelerate from here" - Jeremy Lawson, an economist at BNP Paribas in New York U.S. consumer confidence deteriorated slightly in April. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan’s preliminary index of sentiment declined to 75.7 from 76.2 in March. GBP U.K. "has a wealthy, open, and diversified economy" - S&P Standard & Poor's reaffirmed the U.K.'s triple ...

Fundamental Analysis EUR Italy's borrowing costs increased during last bond sale, escalating worries about Italy's ability to repay its obligations. Three-year bonds faced a rise in the interest rate from 2.76% to 3.89%. Adding to concerns over the Euro Zone's economic state, Greek unemployment rate surged to 21.8% in January as compared to 14.8% in January 2011. USD US March CPI increased by 0.3% thus outpacing the 0.2% investor consensus forecast. Core CPI was in line with the expectations at 0.2% last month, Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. GBP FTSE 100 index traded lower on Friday as lower than expected China's GDP growth weighed on investor sentiment. Additionally Spanish shares tumbled as country's bond yields climbed. Sage Group lost 2.2% after Jefferies cut the stock' ...

Fundamental Analysis EUR "The ECB should be preparing itself" for "the return of significant financial market tensions" - Silvio Peruzzo, an economist at Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc Spanish "market conditions are not justified," said ECB Executive Board member Benoit Coeure on Wednesday. "Will the ECB intervene? We have an instrument, the securities markets program, which hasn’t been used recently but it still exists." USD "Import prices were certainly a problem for businesses in the last three months, but we’ve seen those pressures ease" - Jacob Oubina, a senior U.S. economist at RBC Capital Markets LLC U.S. import prices increased more than expected in March, 1.3 per cent, reflecting higher fuel costs, the Labor Department said Wednesday. GBP "The unusually warm weather in ...

Fundamental Analysis EUR Spain's EUR 10 billion austerity measures did not ease investor worries the country is likely to be the next to demand a bailout. The borrowing costs for Spanish benchmark 10-year bills rallied almost 20 basis points to 5.94% on Tuesday after Miguel Angel Fernandez Ordonez, the Governor of the Bank of Spain said the country's financials may need extra capital in case the economy slows more than predicted. USD Canadian currency declined reaching a 6-week record low against US Dollar on concern European crisis is regaining momentum amid slowing US recovery. The loonie fell 0.7% to CAD 1.0045 on Tuesday, the lowest figure since February 27. Currently USD/CAD is trading at CAD 1.0018. GBP After a steep loss of 2.2% on Tuesday, FTSE 100 index recovered on Wednesday ...