Thread: Forex News from InstaForex

U.S. Yields Pare Losses as Stocks Recover from Selloff





Treasury yields reversed some of their losses but still closed lower after stocks rallied from the prior day's rout that drove investors toward safe havens and pushed bond prices up.


The yield on the 10-year Treasury notes edged down 2.8 basis points to 2.766 percent, after having declined to as low as 2.648 percent. The benchmark yield had climbed to a four-year peak of 2.883 percent on Monday. Two-year note yield was mostly unchanged at 2.091 percent, while the 30-year rate was down 2.3 basis points to 3.043 percent.


Yields on the 10-year German bund shed 4.6 basis points to 0.691 percent, according to Factset data.


Appetite for safe-haven bonds eased after stocks jumped a day after a historic selloff in the U.S. equities markets when the Dow Jones Industrial Average observed its biggest one-day decline in history. Investors tend to shift towards bonds and other safe-haven assets whenever there is chaos in riskier assets, such as stocks.


Prime News are provided byInstaForex.

Japan Current Account Surplus Falls To Y797.2 Billion





Japan posted a current account surplus of 797.2 billion yen in December, the Ministry of Finance said on Thursday - down 28.5 percent on year.


The headline figure was shy of expectations for a surplus of 1,056.9 billion yen following the 1,347.3 billion yen surplus in November.


The trade balance showed a surplus of 538.9 billion yen, exceeding expectations for 520.4 billion yen and up from 181.0 billion yen in the previous month.


Exports climbed 8.8 percent on year to 7.271 trillion yen, while imports jumped 14.6 percent to 6.732 trillion yen.


The capital account showed a deficit of 18.7 billion yen, while the financial account saw a surplus of 1.885 trillion yen.


The adjusted current account surplus was 1,479.6 billion yen - missing forecasts for 1,660.0 billion yen and down from 1,700.5 billion yen a month earlier.


For all of 2017, the current account surplus was 21.874 trillion yen.


Also on Thursday, the Bank of Japan said that overall bank lending in Japan was up 2.4 percent on year in January, coming in at 523.068 trillion yen.


That follows the 2.5 percent increase in December.


Excluding trusts, bank lending was up an annual 2.3 percent to 454.911 trillion yen following the 2.4 percent gain in the previous month.


Lending from trusts climbed 2.5 percent to 68.157 trillion yen, while lending from foreign banks surged 14.0 percent to 2.433 trillion yen.


News are provided byInstaForex.

Bitcoin Posts Sharp Gains after Recent Slump





Bitcoin rallied along with solid gains in other cryptocurrencies on Wednesday.


According to CoinDesk, the biggest digital currency based on market capitalization traded 9.5 percent higher above $8, 400. The rally marked an increase of over $2, 000 in just over a day.


The gains came after a Senate Banking Committee hearing on Tuesday on cryptocurrencies in with the chairmen of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission underlined consumer protection without a heavy-handed prohibition on the development of virtual assets. The agency heads also said Treasury Secretary Mnuchin is gathering several federal agencies to draft out the regulation on the fast-expanding industry.


Before the hearing, bitcoin slid below $6, 000 to $5, 947.40, its lowest level since November 13 amid a slump in U.S. stocks. The S&P 500 edged up late Tuesday to end 1.7 percent up, but stock index futures indicated a lower open on Wednesday.


Other cryptocurrencies traded up. Ethereum advanced 5.6 percent to $838, ripple climbed 2.3 percent and bitcoin cash rose almost 4.8 percent, according to COinMarketCap.


On a 24-hour basis, the biggest cryptocurrencies by market cap posted double-digit gains. Bitcoin continues to be almost 17 percent lower for the month and down 39 percent down for 2018 so far.


Prime News are provided byInstaForex.

China Consumer Prices Rise 1.5% On Year In January





Consumer prices in China were up 1.5 percent on year in January, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Friday.


That was in line with expectations and down from 1.8 percent in December.


On a monthly basis, consumer prices advanced 0.6 percent - up from 0.3 percent in the previous month.


The bureau also said that producer prices were up 4.3 percent on year - exceeding expectations for 4.2 percent but down from 4.9 percent a month earlier.


News are provided byInstaForex.

Benchmark U.S. Yield Remain on Upward Path even as Stocks Plunge





Treasury Yields rebounded on Thursday as edgy investors drove down stock benchmarks significantly lower in another dramatic and volatile session on Wall Street driven by inflation concerns, but the benchmark 10-year note clung to an upward movement.


The yield for the 10-year Treasury note stood at 2.848 percent, rising 0.8 percent, after recording an intraday high of 2.875 percent. The two-year note yield fell 0.4 basis point to 2.130 percent, while the 30-year bond rate edged up 1.8 basis point to 3.134 percent.


After a short-lived flight to safe haven assets drove yields lower on Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average losing over 800 points at its lowest, government paper saw a resumption in selling, pushing yields up again.


A rally in bonds helped to reverse the selloff after the Bank of England said that strong inflation could accelerate the schedule of rate hikes, putting pressure on British government bonds. BoE's Monetary Policy Committee voted unanimously to retain interest rates at 0.5 percent. The central bank has received criticism from analysts arguing that the country's borrowing rates are too low as the weak pound has stoked inflationary pressures.


The 10-year UK bond yield surged 7.9 basis points to 1.617 percent, according to Tradeweb. Meanwhile, the sterling rallied to $1.3914, rising from $1.3882 before the BoE report.


Prime News are provided byInstaForex.

UK Consumer Spending Remains in Second Gear in January: Visa





British consumers spend less in January compared to the same period a year ago, causing spending last month to mark its first decline since 2013, according to a survey.


Visa, whose debit and credit cards are utilized for a third of payments in the UK, reported on Monday that consumers had a stronger control on spending for the traditional post-Christmas sales in the previous month.


Household spending declined by 1.2 percent in January against the same month in 2017, with spending in shops falling by 4 percent, Visa reported.


A decline in car sales affected the overall sales numbers too. But things were more upbeat for hotels and restaurants, as well as for hair salons and beauty product sellers, as consumers looked for little luxuries for themselves.


Britain's economic growth has fallen behind the more solid expansion in other affluent countries in 2017 as higher inflation since the Brexit vote and weak growth squeezed consumers' spending power.


Annabel Fiddes of IHS Markit said worries regarding Brexit were affecting consumer confidence. However, spending could gain momentum later this year as inflation is anticipated to retreat will wages increase more quickly, she added.


Prime News are provided byInstaForex.

Ireland Consumer Sentiment At 17-Year High





Ireland's consumer confidence reached a 17-year high in January reflecting robust economy, survey results from KBC Bank and the Economic and Social Research Institute showed Monday.


The consumer sentiment index rose to 110.4 in January from 103.2 in December. This was the highest score since February 2001.


However, the survey suggested that the improvement was largely driven by bargain hunting in post-Christmas sales. This strong 'seasonal' element to jump in January may be reversed in coming months, the survey cautioned.


An improvement in all five main components of the survey points to a distinct improvement in the mood of Irish consumers at the start of 2018.


The index of current conditions improved to 129.6 from 122.9 a month ago. Likewise, the index of consumer expectations came in at 97.5, up from 90 in December.


The general economic outlook index climbed to 73.4 from 65.3. Similarly, the outlook for employment index rose to 98.0 from 94.3 in the previous month.


The indicator measuring past personal financial situation improved to 108 and that for coming twelve months gained to 125.6.


Austin Hughes, KBC Bank Ireland, said, "The sharp rise in sentiment in January partly reflects the continuing improvement in the Irish economy that now seems to be reaching more broadly across Irish consumers."

U.S. Yields Rally as Investors Eye Inflation Report





U.S. government bond prices continued their decline, driving yields up, as investors looked forward to the coming inflation report that could reaffirm the bearish sentiment on Treasury bonds.


The 10-year Treasury note yield advanced 2.7 basis points to 2.857 percent, but retreated from a four-year peak of 2.891 percent hit earlier in the day.


The 30-year bond rate was almost unchanged at 3.138 percent but reached its highest level since March 2017, according to WSJ Market Data Group. Meanwhile, the two-year note yield recorded a gain of 1.7 basis points to 2.077 percent.


Bond markets experienced selling pressure as a mixture of inflation worries, increasing budget deficits and the Federal Reserve's move to unwind its balance sheet have affected the demand for U.S. government bonds. Treasury issuance is expected to increase at the same time the U.S. government can no longer depend on a price-insensitive Fed to absorb the coming supply.


Higher rates were said to be the cause of a deep correction that sent stocks plunging. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq Composite Index traded down over 5 percent in the previous week. Stocks look less attractive on several valuation indicators if the benchmark 10-year yield rises to high.


However, stocks rallied on Monday to record back-to-back increases, with the Dow rising over 400 points.


Investors are now expected to focus on the consumer-price index report on Wednesday, a possible turning point as investors faulted the strong reading on the wage index of the January jobs report as the main reason for the market turmoil.


Prime News are provided byInstaForex.

Australia Business Confidence Index Rises To +12 - NAB





Business confidence in Australia ticked higher in January, the latest survey from the National Australia Bank revealed on Tuesday with an index score of +12.


That's up from the downwardly revised +10 in December.


The NAB also said that its index for business conditions jumped to +19 from +13 in the previous month.


News are provided byInstaForex.

Australia Jobless Rate Eases To 5.5% In January





The unemployment rate in Australia came in at a seasonally adjusted 5.5 percent in January, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday.


That was in line with expectations following the upwardly revised 5.6 percent reading in December (originally 5.5 percent).


The Australian economy added 16,000 jobs last month - beating forecasts for 15,000 following the downwardly revised 33,500 increase in the previous month (originally 34,700).


The participation rate came in at 65.6 percent - matching expectations and down from 65.7 percent a month earlier.


News are provided byInstaForex.