Overnight Points of Interest
2013 May 20 by Graham
Good morning
Overnight
# Equity markets continued the magnificent bull run, this time buoyed by a strong U.S consumer confidence reading. The EuroStoxx600 ended Friday up 0.24% to round out a 1.22% gain for the week. Within the Eurozone the German DAX posted a fresh all-time intraday high, daily and weekly closing highs. Stateside, the S&P500 rose 1.03% to end the week up 2.07%.
# The University of Michigan Consumer Confidence Survey rocketed to a 6-year high of 83.7 versus 77.9 expected as rising real estate values and record stock prices boosted household wealth. The gains appear to show that Americans are overcoming the effects of higher taxes and a package of federal spending cuts, known as sequestration.
# The amazingly robust reading drove U.S. 10 year bond yields back towards the highs of the week, ending up at 1.95% from 1.87% earlier.
# In a unwelcome development for a slowing economy, China April home prices jumped 4.9% on year, the fastest gains since April 2011. 67 out of 70 cities showed new home prices rising. This leaves China authorities face a deepening dilemma in trying to curb property prices while at the same time supporting an economic recovery.
#Best to worst performing currencies last week
CCY May10 May 17 % changes
EUR 1.2992 1.2838 -1.19%
GBP 1.5363 1.5172 -1.24%
JPY 101.58 103.18 -1.58%
CHF 0.9566 0.9723 -1.64%
CAD 1.0100 1.0285 -1.83%
AUD 1.0017 0.9730 -2.87%
NZD 0.8307 0.8060 -2.97%
# The USD strengthened across the board last week breaking key resistance and rising to a 3 year high – but it was a terrible week for the commodity/risk currencies. Commodity prices remained sluggish andChinagrowth concerns resulted in macro-funds targeting the AUD and NZD. Expectations the Fed is softening the ground for scaling back QE efforts broadly supported the USD – while expectations the RBA has further to go in its easing cycle made the AUD particularly vulnerable.
# Friday most commodities moved higher with Copper and U.S. Crude gaining a bit less than 1.0% despite the rise in the US dollar. Both commodities lifted on the much betterUSsentiment data, while Copper was also underpinned by inventory stats indicating greater draw-downs fromChina. The hawkish shift in Fed expectations and stronger USD kept Gold under pressured and the ETF’s kept selling. Gold fell close to 2.0% to close at 1,358 – the lowest weekly close since Feb 2011. IronOrecontinued to tumble closing 2.35% lower at 123.23 from Thursday’s close at 126.19.IronOrehas fallen 23.35% from the Feb 20 high at 160.78. For the week Copper fell 1.04%, Crude ended the week flat. Gold had a terrible week falling 6.15% andIronOredidn’t do much better – putting in a weekly loss of 5.86%.
Ahead
BBY (NZ) Limited, a specialist advisor in Futures – FX – CFD – Options – Shares – Gold – Silver – Commodities
Overnight Points of Interest
2013 May 9 by Graham
Good morning
I will be on annual leave from tomorrow until Thursday, as such the OPI output will take a break until then.
Overnight
# European stocks were buoyed by the 2nd consecutive day of positive German data surprise, the Eurostoxx600 rising 0.64%. Meanwhile, the S&P500 advanced for the 5th straight day once again setting new all-time highs. The S&P500 rose 0.41%v ending on its intraday high.
# German Industrial Production helped underpin the EUR and European stocks. March IP rose 1.2%m/m, well above the 0.1% decline expected. Coming just a day after the similarly upbeat German factory orders figures, the data has buoyed hopesGermanymay yet avoid recession.
# One of the market trends that has occurred recently, and largely without fanfare, is the decline in borrowing cost for the European ‘periphery’. From 350bps in early April, Italian-German 10-year bond spreads have fallen to almost 250bps. Spanish equivalents have plunged from 375bps to 280bps over the same period. As various commentators have noted, these declines are doing far more to ease European financial conditions than the ECB’s 25bps refi rate cut.
# Legendary investor Stanley Druckenmiller, ex Soros Fund, hit the wires saying the commodity swoon is not just a correction, the party is over due to oversupply and the AUD is going to come down hard. http://au.businessinsider.com/druckenmiller-pessimistic-on-commodities-2013-5
# The U.S. Treasury’s sale of $24 billion in 10-year notes got a lukewarm reception from investors, drawing $2.70 in bids for every $1 worth of notes on sale, below the average.
$2.89 from the past eight auctions, according to CRT Capital Group. As a result, theU.S.government is paying a higher interest rate of 1.810% for the new notes, more than the 1.800% for similar notes already in circulation before the auction.
# Commodities were well bid, Gold futures posted the biggest gain in almost two weeks as demand for bars and jewellery increased in India and China, the world’s largest consumers of the metal. Gold futures for June delivery advanced 1.7 % to settle at $1,473.70 an ounce. U.S. Crude rose to a one-month high after supplies fell at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for the contract. Brent oil’s premium to WTI shrank below $8 for the first time since January 2011. U.S. Crude for June delivery increased $1 to $96.62. Dr Copper also rose, climbing 2.0% on the back of the strong China trade data yesterday and the German IP data overnight.
Ahead (big day in this neck of the woods)
# NZ Employment Change
# Australian Employment Change
# China CPI
# Japan Leading Indicators
# UK Manufacturing and Industrial Production
Cheers G.
Edge Capital Markets Limited, a specialist advisor in Futures – FX – CFD – Options – Shares – Gold – Silver – Commodities
Overnight Points of Interest
2013 May 8 by Graham
Good morning
Overnight
# The positive equity market run continues unabated, the EuroStoxx600 rising to within a whisker of 5 year highs, up +0.26% by session end. Meanwhile the Dow closed above 15,000 for the first time ever whilst the S&P500 rose 0.52 % to 1,625.96, reaching a record for a fourth straight day.
# German Factory Orders surprised to the topside for the 2nd month in a row rising 2.2% against expectations of +0.5%.
# French Industrial Production data undershot analyst expectations in March falling -2.5%y/y vs. -1.4% expected.
#Portugal saw off a successful bond auction with Portuguese FinMin Gaspar saying the bond sale was a big success, 2013 financing needs covered, will be ready to exit bailout program in mid-2014.
# U.S. Consumer Credit rose $7.97 bln in March, the smallest gain since July 2012. The consensus expectation had been for a $16.00 bln increase.
# On no particular news GBP was hit hard falling more than a cent against the USD from above 1.5550 to below 1.5450.
# U.S Crude dropped for the first time in 4 days dropping 0.6% ahead of the next stockpile data which is expected to show reserves further increasing from 82 year highs. Mirroring my view, one (smart, ha!) analyst said “High inventories and weak demand do not make a bull market”.
Ahead
# UK BRC Retail sales
# ChinaTrade Balance
# German Industrial production
# U.S Crude Oil Inventories
# U.S.10 Year Bond Auction
Cheers G.
Edge Capital Markets Limited, a specialist advisor in Futures – FX – CFD – Options – Shares – Gold – Silver – Commodities
Overnight Points of Interest
2013 May 6 by Graham
Good morning
Overnight
# Equity markets were buoyed by a better than expected U.S employment report, rising solidly to end the week. The EuroStoxx600 ended up 1.06% for a 1.74% gain on the week. Similarly the S&P500 rose 1.05% to end the week up 2.03%, closing at new record highs.
# The U.S. Non-Farm Payrolls figures came out stronger than expected with close inspection showing strength in all facets of the report. The headline jobs growth for April came in at +165k against expected +145k, March’s +88k figure was revised up to +138k, average hourly earnings rose +0.2% and the unemployment rate fell from 7.6% to 7.5% (a Goldilocks number as far as FED action is concerned? – no too hot to inspire ‘tapering talk, not too cold to worry markets…..just right?)
# The data on U.S Factory Orders for March was largely overlooked with the -4% decline not a factor in price action over the evening. The 4 % drop in bookings was the biggest since August and followed a revised 1.9 % gain the prior month that was smaller than previously estimated. Companies appear to be feeling the effects of slowing growth in Europe, Asia and the U.S., where higher taxes and across-the- board federal budget cuts, known as sequestration, have restrained consumer spending.
# U.S. ISM Non-Manufacturing (services) PMI also declined, dropping to 53.1 in April against forecast 54.0 and a previous 54.4. Whilst slowing the report remains in expansionary territory.
# EUR/USD embarked on a wild ride. The pair was grinding higher after an ECB speaker suggested the zone wasn’t ready for negative rates reaching 1.3140 before the payrolls figure saw a plunge to 1.3030 where apparent central bank buying lay in wait which provided the basis for a wicked rebound to as high as 1.3160. the pair eased into the close to end at 1.3125
# Copper produced a stunning rally after weeks of constant selling. The prime industrial metal rose nearly 7%, the biggest 1 day gain since Oct 2011. Besides the mammoth rise in copper – U.S. Crude gained 1.72% on Friday while Gold only gained $4 to US$1,471 due to the betterUSpayroll data washing away expectations the Fed will consider increasing QE efforts. Iron ore eased from 130.40 to 130.22.
# U.S 10 Year Treasury Bond yields surged from 1.63% to 1.74% whilst a similar move was seen in German Bunds with the 10 year yield rising from 1.15% to 1.24%.
Ahead
Edge Capital Markets Limited, a specialist advisor in Futures – FX – CFD – Options – Shares – Gold – Silver – Commodities
Overnight Points of Interest
2013 May 3 by Graham
Good morning
Overnight
# Equity markets benefitted from more monetary policy stimulus, this time form the ECB who cut their benchmark rate by 0.25%. The after a topsy turvy session the EuroStoxx600 rallied late to end up 0.32%. The S&P500 forged to new all-time highs, rising 0.94%.
# As was widely expected, in light of the recent stream of poor European data, the ECB cut 0.25% to take its target interest rate to 0.50%. President Draghi did not rule out further action saying the ECB is “technically ready” for negative deposit rates. He also said the ECB was consulting with other parties on ways to stimulate lending, particularly to SMEs. Finally the ECB’s statement emphasised that the risks surrounding the economic outlook for the Eurozone continue to be to the downside.
# The EUR was hit hard on the decision. After initially trying the topside, rallying to 1.3220, the EUR then slumped to sit at 1.3050 this morning.
# After last night’s ECB announcement German 10-year yields dropped to within a whisker of last year’s all-time lows, at 1.16%. Peripheral spreads to German bonds inched lower. Spanish-Italian 10-year bonds spreads narrowed to 290bps, their lowest level since October 2011.
# U.S Jobless Claims unexpectedly fell to a 5 year low with 18,000 less applying for job insurance. The headline drop to 324k contradicts yesterday’s ADP report and sets up an interesting end to the week with the official Non-Farm Payrolls number due tonight where the unemployment rate is expected to stay at 7.6%. (One evolving story is the suspicion that there is an ever growing ‘black/grey’ labour market in the U.S. This line of thinking is built upon the huge drop in the participation rate in recent years (normal participation would suggest unemployment over 10%) but data like retail sales remaining relatively stronger than would be expected).
# Commodities were generally well bid on the double whammy of more global stimulus and better than expected U.S. labour data. U.S. Crude was the standout, tracing out the biggest 1 day gain in 6 months.
Ahead
# AIG Australian Services Index
#ChinaNon-Manufacturing PMI
# Australian PPI
#UKServices PMI
# Eurozone Economic Forecasts
#U.S.Non- Farm Payrolls
#U.S.ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI
# U.S Factory Orders
Cheers and good weekend
G.
Edge Capital Markets Limited, a specialist advisor in Futures – FX – CFD – Options – Shares – Gold – Silver – Commodities
Overnight Points of Interest
2013 May 1 by Graham
Good morning
Overnight
# European stocks lost ground on a record Eurozone unemployment number howeverU.S.stocks made moderate gains with the S&P500 rallying to new all-time highs in the last few minutes of the session. The EuroStoxx600 ended down 0.23% whilst the S&P500 rose 0.25%.
# Eurozone unemployment for March rose to 12.1%, the highest since 1995. There is now more than 19 mio people out of work in the combined economic zone. The biggest rise in unemployment was inGreece, where the jobless rate jumped by almost a percentage point in one month to 27.2%. Youth unemployment in the bailed-out nation crept closer to 60%, with 59.1% of 16 to 24-year-olds out of work in January, compared with 58.4% in December.
# Meanwhile Eurozone inflation fell to a 3 year low of 1.2% in April, the biggest monthly drop in more than 4 years. The combined inflation and unemployment data has many analysts expecting an interest rate cut from the ECB this week.
# Spain announced that their economy, the 4th largest in the Eurozone contracted a further 0.5% in Q1, the 7th consecutive decline. The latest figure is in line with Bank of Spain forecasts which predict that Spain’s economy will shrink by around 1.3 % by year end and not begin to return to growth until well into 2014. Embattled Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy was forced to acknowledge that despite stringent austerity measures the nation would need an additional two years to bring its public deficit to within the 3 % limit demanded by European Union partners.
# German Retail Sales fell for a second month in March, adding to signs that Europe’s largest economy is struggling to recover.
# Despite the rotten data the EUR actually rallied against the greenback by as much as 1% at one stage, lifting from 1.3053 to 1.3184.
# The likely catalyst was the Chicago FED PMI which showed manufacturing conditions in the Chicago region contracted for the first time in 3.5 years. The index dropped to 49.0 from 52.4 in the month of April hitting its lowest level since September 2009.
# U.S. Consumer Confidence rebounded in April rising to 68.1% v 61.0 a 5 month high, most probably driven by improving house prices.
# S&P/Case Shiller US house price index a composite index of 20 metropolitan areas rose 1.2%m/m in February, the strongest in six years.
# Apple Inc. set a record for the global bond market with a blockbuster $17bn debt sale on Tuesday as the iPhone maker raised capital to fund its plan to return $100bn to shareholders. While Apple has $145bn of cash on its balance sheet, only $45bn is held in theUS and repatriating foreign reserves would be costly due to tax implications. This has motivated the company to access the US debt market for the first time.
# U.S. 10-year yields touched a 4-month low of 1.64% overnight as falling inflation (the core PCE fell to 1.1% on Monday) and deteriorating economic data has raised speculation the Fed could be a little more dovish this time around (no tapering talk).
# U.S Crude dropped 1.1% ahead of tonight’s stockpiles report which is expected to show ever increasing U.S. reserves.
Ahead
# AIG Australian Manufacturing Index
#ChinaOfficial Manufacturing PMI
# RBA Assist Gov Edey Speaks
#UKManufacturing PMI
# ADP Non-Farm Employment report
#U.S.ISM Manufacturing PMI
# U.S Construction Spending
Cheers G.
Edge Capital Markets Limited, a specialist advisor in Futures – FX – CFD – Options – Shares – Gold – Silver – Commodities
Overnight Points of Interest
2013 April 24 by Graham
Good morning
Overnight
# European stocks somewhat perversely roared higher as weak European PMI data spurred speculation that the ECB may be forced to cut interest rates. The EuroStoxx600 ended up a hefty 2.43%. Similarly, U.S bourses also made solid gains, the S&P500 rising 1.04%.
# Eurozone Manufacturing PMI remained firmly in contraction, the data coming in at 46.5, below both the previous reading of 46.8 and analyst expectations also of 46.8. Further, the rather grim reading showed that Germany, previously the last bastion of European growth, has now been infected by the periphery’s problems. Both German manufacturing (47.9) and services (49.2) are now in contraction.
# The U.S. Flash Manufacturing PMI fell to a 52.0 reading in April from 54.6 in March.. This is the lowest reading in six months. New orders slowed sharply in April, employment also expanded at a slower rate. Although the U.S data was still above 50, and thus in an expansionary phase, the data completes yesterdays’ trifecta of slowing manufacturing in the world’s 3 biggest economies. The decline is very important as it raises concerns that the U.S. manufacturing expansion is losing momentum rapidly as businesses and households worry about the impact of tax hikes and government spending cuts.
# Sales of new U.S. homes advanced in March as near record-low mortgage rates helped the industry complete the strongest quarter since 2008, putting the economy on firmer footing. Purchases of single-family properties climbed 1.5 % last month to a 417,000 annual pace against expectations of a rise of 416,000.
# There was high drama in the U.S session with a bogus ‘tweet’ significantly affecting trading. Around 5.00am this morning the Associated Press had its Twitter account hacked, announcing an explosion at the White House. The Dow momentarily dropped 150 points whilst the USD/JPY gapped from around 99.30 to below 98.60. This false information was quickly denied and the Dow and the USD/JPY quickly returned to previous trading levels.
Ahead
# Australian CPI
# RBA Deputy Gov. Lowe speaks
# German IFO Business Climate
# U.S Durable Goods
Cheers G.
Edge Capital Markets Limited, a specialist advisor in Futures – FX – CFD – Options – Shares – Gold – Silver – Commodities
Overnight Points of Interest
2013 April 3 by Graham
Good morning
Overnight
# European stocks rose sharply as the new quarter spurred fresh position taking and merger and acquisition news (M&A) boosted sentiment. The EuroStoxx600 ended up a healthy 1.27%. Stateside, stocks are giving back early gains as we head into the close with the S&P500 ending up 0.50%, a new all-time closing high.
# Shares of Vodafone rose 2.9% to the highest level in more than five years, as the Financial Times reported that Verizon Communications and AT&T T are working on a bid for the U.K. telecommunications firm. At that the rumoured priced, about 260p per share, the deal would be the biggest acquisition ever. It would dwarf the previous M&A record holder, AOL’s $182bn takeover of Time Warner in 2000.
# The NZD was the strongest of its peers as Global Dairy prices hit a new record high, after rising 14.2% on average since the previous auction a fortnight ago. This is the third consecutive auction with double digit price gains, as the short supply of product squeezes prices upward. Dairy prices have more than doubled since the mid-May 2012 low. The strength was particularly evident against the GBP after data showed the UK manufacturing sector shrinking more than anticipated in March with UK PMI coming in at 48.3 vs. 48.7 expected. NZD/GBP now sits at a new post float high of 0.5575.
# The final reading of Eurozone Manufacturing PMI fell to 46.8 points last month, up from an initial estimate of 46.6, but well short of the already-weak 47.9 points posted in February. The downturn in the 17-nation Eurozone’s manufacturing sector deepened sharply last month, with even powerhouse Germany dragged down, the key indicator showed. The outcome left the closely followed indicator at a 3 month low and firmly below the 50-points boom-bust line since August 2011.
# Unemployment across the 17 European Union countries that use the Euro has struck 12 % for the first time since the currency was launched in 1999. Over the month, a net 33,000 people in the Eurozone joined the ranks of the unemployed. Spain and Greece continued to suffer from unemployment rates above 26 %, and many other countries were seeing their numbers swell to uncomfortable levels. Showing how Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, has benefitted from the single currency union their unemployment rate is only 5.4% significantly better than the U.S. rate of 7.7 %.
# Orders for US Factory Goods escalated in February on aircraft and car bookings even as the business spending indicator declined, pointing to a mixed picture of the country’s manufacturing sector. Orders for manufactured goods rose 3 %, following a 1 % decline in January, which was better than initially reported.
# Gold tumbled the most in more than 5 weeks (Silver lower for the ride too!) as physical demand ebbed and a stronger dollar trimmed demand for the precious metal as an alternative investment. Adding to the bear sentiment Societe Generale SA analysts said Gold is in a bubble and will head into a so-called bear market as improving U.S. economic growth prompts the Federal Reserve to curb stimulus efforts. The U.S. Mint sales of American Eagle gold coins slumped 23 % in March from a month earlier to 62,000 ounces. Gold fell 1.6 % to settle at $1,575.90 an ounce the biggest decline since Feb. 20. Prices have fallen 6 % this year, after 12 straight annual gains.
# Various FED speakers were somewhat contradictory with the Fed’s Kocherlakota repeating call for more monetary accommodation, again urging the Fed to vow low rates until unemployment falls to 5.5% whilst the Fed’s Lockhart said the central bank could begin to curtail asset purchases later this year or early next year without harming economic momentum.
Ahead
# Australian New Home Sales
# Australian Trade Balance
# China Non-Manufacturing PMI
Regards and have great (trading) day
G.
Edge Capital Markets Limited, a specialist advisor in Futures – FX – CFD – Options – Shares – Gold – Silver – Commodities
Overnight Points of Interest
2013 March 28 by Graham
Good morning
Overnight
# Europe was to the fore again with Cyprus revealing more on how it will combat the current turmoil. The EuroStoxx600 was less than enthused falling 0.45%. U.S bourses were mixed however, the S&P500 flat, the Dow down 0.22% but the Nasdaq up 0.13%.
# Cyprus announced capital controls will be in place for 4 days after the banks reopen to limit a rapid outflow of cash form the country. Cyprus will limit the use of cheques to businesses, cap cash withdrawals to 300 euros per day and scrutinize all commercial transactions over 5,000 euros when banks reopen on Thursday. Meanwhile Cyprus State TV reported tonight that the European Central Bank had sent convoys of trucks with container loads of euros to the Cyprus central bank.
# News from Italy also served to unnerve the market. Attempts by Bersani to form an Italian government came to nothing (quote: only an “insane person” would want to govern), and an Italian government bond auction went very badly with the lowest bid-cover ratio in over a decade. The poor auction pushed the 10-year yield to the highest relative to German bunds this year. The benchmark bond yield climbed 21 basis points to 4.78 %, up from 4.50% at the end of last year.
# The EUR once again bore the brunt of the market uneasiness, falling to fresh 4 month lows near 1.2750. In response NZD/EUR pushed to 7 month highs (0.6550) as the recent run of good data, including yesterday’s Fonterra payout upgrade, gave the kiwi a degree of safe haven appeal. The NZD/TWI, the measure of overall kiwi strength, is now within spitting distance of post float (1985) highs.
# Final UK GDP figures revealed the UK economy contracted by 0.3% in Q4, in line with earlier estimates as industrial production posted its biggest quarterly decline in almost four years. The figures confirm that the UK economy finished last year on a very weak footing and worryingly keeps alive the risk of a triple-dip recession.
# Moody’s says the EU’s awkward handling of Cyprus’s bailout has put extra pressure on European sovereign ratings.
# U.S Pending Homes Sales fell to 104.8 from 105.20 last month however analysts suggest the drop can be attributed to a lack of supply rather than weakening demand.
# The U.S 10 year bond is flashing warning signs with the yield now down to 1.83% from 2.09% only a fortnight ago.
# Corn supplies in the U.S., the biggest grower, are shrinking at the fastest pace in almost four decades as improving demand from ethanol refiners drains reserves already diminished by drought. Stockpiles probably fell 38 % in three months to 4.995 billion bushels (126.9 million metric tons) by March 1, the biggest drop since 1975.
Ahead - Today
# NZ Building Consents
# Australian MI Inflation Expectations
# Japan Retail Sales
# Australian Private Sector Credit
Friday
# U.S. Unemployment Claims
# U.S Final GDP
# Chicago PMI
# Japan Manufacturing PMI, CPI and Industrial Production
# University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment
Regards and good Easter break to all
G.
Edge Capital Markets Limited, a specialist advisor in Futures – FX – CFD – Options – Shares – Gold – Silver – Commodities
Overnight Points of Interest
2013 March 25 by Graham
Good Monday morning
Overnight
# As offshore trading sessions progressed Friday the market moved ever more confidently towards pricing a positive resolution to the Cyprus drama. The EuroStoxx600 ended down a marginal 0.15% whilst stateside U.S bourses rose solidly, the S&P500 ending up 0.72%. For the week the EuroStoxx fell 1.14% whilst the S&P eased 0.24%.
# Mirroring the stock markets’ positive expectations for a Cyprus solution, two of the key ‘risk’ barometers for the Eurozone, Italian and Spanish bond yields fell. The Italian bond yield fell sharply to 4.51% from 4.64% whilst the 10-year Spanish bond yield eased to 4.86% from 4.89%. Amazingly Italian and Spanish bond yields are lower than they were before the Cyprus crisis started. (Is that confidence or perhaps blind faith that investors have in the ECB and its ability to manage a crisis?).
# U.S Treasury yields closed at 1.92% up slightly from Thursday’s close at 1.91% but well lower than last week’s 1.99% close.
# The German IFO Mar Business Climate fell to 106.7 vs 107.4, the first drop since October.
# GBP showed minimal reaction to news that ratings agency Fitch had placed the UK on ratings watch- negative, saying they are to complete review by end of April.
# The ‘Troika’, demanding more of Cyprus, increased the size of the contribution by Cyprus for the bailout package to EUR6.7 bln from the original EUR5.8 bln. In a reworked attempt at the bailout savings accounts of €100k or less will now be protected but over that benchmark will be subject to a whopping 20% levy.
#Best to worst performing currencies last week
CCY Mar15 Mar22 % change
JPY 95.25 94.53 0.76%
NZD 0.8290 0.8352 0.75%
GBP 1.5123 1.5230 0.71%
CHF 0.9468 0.9406 0.65%
AUD 1.0409 1.0443 0.33%
CAD 1.0205 1.0233 -0.27%
EUR 1.3075 1.2988 -0.67%
# The EUR was the centre of attention last week, as the Cyprus crisis dominated the headlines. It isn’t surprising the EUR ended the week as the worst performing currency, but it is a bit surprising it managed to hold up as well as it did. The JPY edged out the NZD as the best performing currency, as the first speech given by new BOJ chief Kuroda wasn’t as aggressively dovish as the market was expecting. The NZD made solid gains as stronger NZ growth data forced some paring back of long AUD/NZD positions.
# Copper rebounded 1.08%, Crude jumped 1.46% while unwinding of safe-haven strategies weighed on gold which eased to $1,608 from $1,615 at Thursday’s close. Iron Ore gained 0.43% to close at 134.89. For the week Copper fell 1.37%; U.S Crude gained 0.37%, Gold gained 1% and Iron Ore fell 0.29%.
Ahead
Regards G.
Edge Capital Markets Limited, a specialist advisor in Futures – FX – CFD – Options – Shares – Gold – Silver – Commodities