Tuesday Afternoon Local

Sunrise Market Commentary - Fixed Income: Profit taking continued, but now concluded? - The profit taking on global core bond markets continued in the run-up to tonight's informal EU-Summit. Spanish and Italian spreads decreased significantly but yields remain at elevated levels. Today, the eco calendar is again thin and trading will again be driven by sentiment. - Currencies: Euro rebound short-lived On - Tuesday, the euro came again under pressure even as the global context was not that negative. Sentiment on risk was constructive and intra-EMU spreads narrowed, but all this didn't prevent investors to use any upticks in the single currency to further reduce exposure. The key 1.2642/24 support is again coming within reach. The Sunrise Headlines - In the final hour of ...

(Reuters) - Gold traded near intraday lows on Tuesday afternoon with selling accelerating on low volumes as the euro lost further ground ahead of a much-anticipated European summit. The pressure started on Monday after bullion failed to break through key resistance at $1,600 per ounce, sending prices below near-term technical support levels. That selling snowballed on Tuesday afternoon in New York, sending prices below $1,570 an ounce as the euro weakened with investors betting Wednesday's meeting of European leaders would do little to tackle the region's debt crisis. "The euro continued to sag. It's not going to make a decisive move until the EU summit," said James Steel, chief commodity analyst at HSBC. Weaker oil prices on news of a potential deal between Iran and the U.N. nuclear ...

FUNDAMENTAL OUTLOOK at 0800 GMT (EDT +0400) USD The euro suffered overnight as fears over the situation in Greece have resurfaced. While the market is hoping for a clinching of a debt swap deal today with private sector creditors, securing cross-party support for further austerity measures and securing further funding from the troika is proving far more difficult. According to political leaders in Athens, the main parties have until noon today (local time) to respond to the troika’s demands, and so far there appears some distance between where the national unity government lies and the IMF’s targets. Talks continued late into the evening on Sunday and will resume today between the troika and the local authorities. Reports suggest that the main point of contention lies in private sector ...

The Week Ahead Highlights Better data drives risk on, Fed QE3 off Still waiting on a Greek debt deal Central banks' decisions on tap Better data drives risk on, Fed QE3 off The past week ended with a string of better-than-expected data releases from key major economies, suggesting the global recovery may avoid a more worrisome downturn. Mostly better than expected PMI's from Europe, UK, China and the US were supplemented on Friday by a much stronger US employment report than was expected. We're cautiously optimistic that the better US jobs report is a valid signal that the US recovery is improving, but we're also aware that January employment numbers are especially volatile due to seasonal factors, and subject to major revision. The decline in the unemployment rate in the ...

The Week Ahead Highlights Make or break week for EU debt crisis Outlook for central bank decisions: RBA, BOC, RBNZ, BOE and ECB US political wrangling clouds the outlook Make or break week for EU debt crisis Next week will likely see either an agreement to bind Eurozone nations' fiscal policies together with irrevocable, enforceable institutions or the beginning of the end for the single currency. We have been here before and so far EU leaders have never failed to disappoint, but they must surely recognize by now that markets have run out of patience and a global financial crisis awaits if they don't make concrete commitments to credible fiscal governance. I am actually optimistic for the first time in this never-ending saga since ECB Pres. Draghi on Thursday indicated the ...

Oil prices rose in choppy trading on Tuesday as efforts to strengthen sanctions on Iran and unrest in the region hiked the geopolitical fear premium and offset worries about global economic growth. "It's Iran sanctions, Egypt and Syria and even Libya today, putting the fear premium into prices, especially ahead of the (U.S. Thanksgiving) holiday," said Dominick Chirichella, senior partner, Energy Management Institute in New York. The United States, Britain and Canada on Monday announced new sanctions on Iran's energy and financial sectors to put more pressure on Tehran to abandon what the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency said were attempts to use its nuclear program develop weapons. The euro rallied against the dollar and helped boost dollar-denominated oil after the ...

Brent crude rose 3 percent on Wednesday to snap a three-day losing streak, lifted by government data showing big drops in U.S. inventories and by signs authorities were moving forward to prop up Europe's ailing banking sector. While demand in top consumer the United States remained weak, data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed a steep drop in imports last week helped drive crude inventories to their lowest since January. Stockpiles of refined products also fell. "The EIA reported better-than-expected numbers, particularly the crude draw," said Joe Posillico, broker for MF Global in New York. "The oil markets were already up a lot, moving with the stock market on the ISM services sector data, when the EIA data came in." Oil and other commodities, as well as ...

The Week Ahead Highlights September ends with a whimper Critical week ahead for Eurozone debt crisis Central bank decisions: RBA, ECB & BOE September ends with a whimper September and the 3Q ended with many major markets closing around recent lows for the current decline. Perhaps most disheartening from a technical perspective is that most risk assets spent the early part of the week attempting to rebound, only to fail, leaving behind ominous price patterns. The CRB commodity index actually closed at new lows for the decline and below the 300 level for the first time since Nov. 2010. The S&P 500 tested higher early in the week, but was soundly rejected from the base of the daily Ichimoku cloud around 1195 and finished out near where it started, but with a very long tail ...

The Week Ahead Highlights Markets consolidate before The End of the World Greek problems get worse before they get better? The euro hinges on Spain Japan's economy still in a 'very severe' state The Loonie may see weakness ahead Key data and events to watch next week Markets consolidate before The End of the World This past week saw most major asset markets and currencies essentially consolidate around recent lows following the sell-off in the first half of May. Incoming data, however, continues to suggest increasing sluggishness in the major economies. In the US, housing data weakened further, both the Philadelphia and Empire manufacturing indexes declined, industrial production flattened, and the index of leading indicators dropped for the first time in 10 ...