Thread: Forex News from InstaForex

European Economics Preview: German GfK Consumer Sentiment Data Due

Consumer confidence survey results from Germany and Distributive Trades data from the U.K. are the major reports due on Tuesday.
At 2.00 am ET, German GfK consumer confidence data is due. The consumer sentiment is expected to remain unchanged at 6 points in April.
In the meantime, the Federal Statistical Office is set to publish German import prices. Economists forecast import price annual inflation to fall to 3.5 percent in February from 3.7 percent in January.
The French statistical office Insee is slated to release consumer confidence survey data at 2.45 am ET. The sentiment index is forecast to remain unchanged at 82 in March.
At 3.30 am ET, Statistics Netherlands is scheduled to issue final GDP figures for the fourth quarter. Also, Sweden's February producer prices and trade balance figures are due.
Spain's short-term bill auction results are due at 5.30 am ET. The government aims to raise a maximum of EUR 1.75 billion from 3-month T-bill auction and EUR 1.25 billion from 6-month T-bill issue.
At 6.00 am ET, the Confederation of British Industry is scheduled to release results of Distributive Trades survey. The retail sales balance is seen falling to -5 in March from -2 in February.


More FOREX-news on pages InstaForex.Com

Moody's Affirms Germany's AAA Rating; Outlook Stable

Moody's Investors Service on Tuesday affirmed the AAA rating on German government bonds and said rating outlook remained 'stable' due to "very low event risk" despite the prolonged debt crisis.
"Germany's Aaa government bond rating and stable outlook continue to be underpinned by the country's advanced and diversified economy, a strong tradition of stability-oriented macroeconomic policies and the economy's deep integration into global trade and capital markets, Moody's said in its annual credit report.
Also, the agency was of the view that the country's economic, financial and political characteristics indicated "very low event risk" despite ongoing economic and financial uncertainties in the euro area.
"High productivity growth and strong world demand for German products have allowed the country to build a broad economic foundation with ample flexibility, generating high income levels," the report said.
Moody's said it determines a country's sovereign rating by assessing four key factors such as economic strength, institutional strength, government financial strength and susceptibility to event risk as well as the interplay between them. Germany continues to consistently achieve the highest scores for all four factors, according to the rating agency.
However, bank-rescue operations by the government and an only moderate economic recovery are likely to continue to weigh on the country's public finances over the near to medium term, it cautioned.
Nevertheless, the implementation of restrictive fiscal policies to rein in public debt and promote a robust economic recovery has helped to put the country on track to achieve a nearly balanced budget in 2012, according to Moody's.


More FOREX-news on pages InstaForex.Com

Japan Retail Sales Growth Tops Expectations

Retail sales in Japan increased more than expected in February, helped by strong demand for motor vehicles and fuel, data from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry showed Thursday.
Retail sales climbed 3.5 percent year-on-year in February, faster than the 1.8 percent increase in January and 1.4 percent growth expected by economists. A government subsidy for fuel-efficient cars is helping to boost domestic demand for vehicles.
Motor vehicle sales jumped 21.4 percent following a 24.1 percent rise in January. Fuel sales at retail outlets climbed 4.8 percent, reversing a 0.8 percent drop in the preceding month. Sales of food and beverages rose 2.5 percent, faster than 0.6 percent rise recorded a month earlier.
Meanwhile, retail trade in general merchandise and machinery and equipment suffered annual decreases of 0.2 percent and 15.9 percent respectively.
On a month-on-month seasonally adjusted basis, total retail sales rose 2 percent in February. That again beat forecasts for a flat reading.
Sales by large-scale retailers saw an increase of 0.2 percent year-on-year against expectations for a 0.3 percent contraction. Commercial sales fell 0.1 percent annually, while wholesale sales slipped 1.3 percent.
During a speech in Tokyo on Wednesday, Bank of Japan board member Ryuzo Miyao said the recent pullback in yen and rise in share prices might have helped improve Japan's consumer confidence.
Japan's economy contracted 0.7 percent annually in the fourth quarter. To support economic activity, the Bank of Japan expanded the size of its asset purchase by JPY 10 trillion to JPY 30 trillion in February. Also, during the March meeting, the central bank decided to expand its loan scheme aimed at supporting economic growth by JPY 2 trillion.


More FOREX-news on pages InstaForex.Com

Australian Home Sales Rebound In February: HIA

Australia's new home sales increased in February, recovering from the previous month's decline, data released by Housing Industry Association (HIA) showed Friday.
The volume of new home sales increased a seasonally adjusted 3 percent on a monthly basis in February, recovering from January's decline.
Detached house sales rose 2.2 percent during the month. The number of new detached house sales increased12.8 percent month-on-month in Western Australia, 5.3 percent in New South Wales, 3.5 percent in Queensland, and 0.3 percent in South Australia. At the same time, sales of multi-units climbed 10.5 percent in February.
"In a contemporary economic environment where interest rate settings are too high, finance conditions persistently tight, consumer and business confidence too low, and plans to tighten fiscal policy inappropriate, it is hard to envisage a sustained recovery in new home sales in coming months,"HIA chief economist Harley Dale said.


More FOREX-news on pages InstaForex.Com

Moody's Lifts S. Korea's Rating Outlook

Moody's Investors Service on Monday lifted the outlook on the Republic of Korea's rating, citing strong fiscal fundamentals and resilience in external financing position.
The outlook on 'A1' government bond rating was revised to 'positive' from 'stable'. The agency said reduction in the banking sector's level of external vulnerability and the outlook for relatively strong trend GDP growth over the medium term also underpinned the upgrade.
Nonetheless, rising household debt is a concern. If unchecked, this trend could impair bank asset quality and introduce a drag on private consumption expenditure as an important source of GDP growth, the agency assessed.
Moody's last rating action on the Government of Korea was on April 14, 2010, when its government bond ratings were raised to 'A1' from 'A2'.


More FOREX-news on pages InstaForex.Com

Full Text of Rba Statement After Leaving Rates unchanged at 4.25 Pct

Full Text of RBA Statement after leaving rates unchanged at 4.25 pct
Recent information is consistent with the expectation that the world economy will grow at a below-trend pace this year, but does not suggest that a deep downturn is occurring. Several countries in Europe will record very weak outcomes, but the US economy is continuing a moderate expansion. Growth in China has moderated, as was intended, and is likely to remain at a more measured and sustainable pace in the future. Conditions around other parts of Asia softened in 2011, partly due to natural disasters, but are not showing signs of further deterioration. Some moderation in inflation has allowed policymakers in the region to ease monetary policies somewhat. Commodity prices declined for a few months last year and are noticeably off their peaks, but have been relatively stable for a while now, at quite high levels. Australia's terms of trade have peaked, though they remain high.
Financial market sentiment has generally continued to improve in recent weeks and capital markets are supplying funding to corporations and well-rated banks.
At the margin, wholesale funding costs are tending to decline, though they remain higher, relative to benchmark rates, than in mid 2011. But the task of putting European banks and sovereigns onto a sound footing for the longer term remains large and Europe will remain a potential source of adverse shocks for In underlying terms, inflation was around 2½ per cent in 2011. CPI inflation was higher than that but will fall over the next quarter or two. It is currently expected that inflation will be in the 2-3 per cent range over the coming one to two years. This forecast abstracts from the effects of the carbon price and also embodies an assumption that productivity growth in the economy increases somewhat as a result of the structural change now occurring. At its next meeting, the Board will have the opportunity to reassess the outlook for inflation, taking into account not only data on demand and output but also forthcoming information on prices.
The Board eased monetary policy late in 2011. Since then, its judgement has been that, with growth expected to be close to trend, inflation close to target and lending rates close to average, the setting of monetary policy was appropriate.
The Board's view was also that, were demand conditions to weaken materially, the inflation outlook would provide scope for easier monetary policy. At today's meeting, the Board judged the pace of output growth to be somewhat lower than earlier estimated, but also thought it prudent to see forthcoming key data on prices to reassess its outlook for inflation, before considering a further step to ease monetary policy.


More FOREX-news on pages InstaForex.Com

Dollar Extends Rally Against Most Majors

The U.S. dollar has been extending its New York session's rally against most major currencies in early Asian trading on Wednesday as the minutes of the Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy meeting indicated that the members were less willing to initiate another round of quantitative easing amid signs of improvement of the U.S. economy.
The latest FOMC meeting minutes said only "a couple of members" indicated that additional stimulus could become necessary, compared to the minutes of the January meeting, which said "a few members" believed that conditions could warrant additional securities purchases.
Disappointing trade data from Australia released in the session also prompted traders to bet on safe haven dollar.
Australia's trade deficit fell to A$480 million from A$971 million in January, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed. Economists had expected the balance to be in a surplus of A$1.1 billion.
Exports fell 2 percent month-on-month in February. Imports were 4 percent lower than a month earlier.
The dollar rose to near a 2-week high of 1.3185 against the euro and a 6-day high of 1.5875 against the pound, compared to yesterday's close of 1.3231 and 1.5914, respectively. The next upside target level for the dollar is seen at 1.315 against the euro and 1.585 against the pound.
The dollar that closed yesterday's New York session at 0.9103 against the Swiss franc climbed to a 9-day high of 0.9136. On the upside, 0.920 is seen as the next target level for the dollar.
Against the Canadian dollar, the US dollar strengthened to a 2-day high of 0.9932. If the greenback gains further, it will reach parity with the loonie. At yesterday's close, the greenback-loonie pair was quoted at 0.9911.
The U.S. dollar advanced to a fresh 2- 1/2 -month high of 1.0265 against the Australian dollar and the next upside target level for the greenback is seen at 1.020. The pair ended yesterday's trading at 1.0332.
The U.S. dollar edged up to a 6-day high of 0.8157 against the New Zealand dollar, compared to 0.8191 hit late New York Tuesday. On the upside, 0.814 is seen as the next target level for the U.S. currency.
But the dollar pulled back slightly from its late New York session high of 83.0 against the yen. At present, the dollar-yen pair is worth 82.67, compared to yesterday's closing value of 82.87.
The final services PMI report for March from major European economies, Eurozone retail sales and German factory orders - both for February are expected in the European session.
At 7:45 am ET, the European Central Bank is due to announce its interest rate decision. The central bank is widely expected to keep rates on hold at 1 percent.
The U.S. ADP National employment report and the ISM non-manufacturing index - both for March are scheduled for release in the New York morning session.


More FOREX-news on pages InstaForex.Com

European Economics Preview: BoE Rate Decision In Focus

The interest rate decision from the Bank of England is the major event that is set to dominate the scene on Thursday.
The Federal Statistical Office is slated to issue Swiss consumer price data at 3.15 am ET. Economists expect consumer prices to fall 1.1 percent year-on-year in March, after easing 0.9 percent in February.
At 3.30 am ET, Dutch inflation data for March is due. EU harmonized inflation remained unchanged at 2.9 percent in February.
At 4.30 am ET, the Office for National Statistics is set to release U.K. industrial output figures. Industrial output is forecast to rise 0.4 percent on a monthly basis after falling 0.4 percent in January. Manufacturing output is expected to edge up 0.1 percent.
The French government aims to raise a maximum of EUR 8.5 billion from the long-term bond auction. The results of the issue are due at 4.50 am ET.
The Federal Ministry of Economy and Technology is scheduled to publish German industrial output at 6.00 am ET. Economists forecast industrial production to drop 0.5 percent month-on-month in February.
The Bank of England is set to announce its monetary policy decision at 7.00 am ET. Policymakers are likely to maintain its GBP 325 billion bond purchases. The central bank is also seen holding its 0.050 percent record low interest rate.


More FOREX-news on pages InstaForex.Com

U.S. Employment Growth Slows In March

Employment growth in the U.S. slowed to 5 percent on a yearly basis in March from 11 percent logged in February, Monster Worldwide said Friday.
On a monthly basis, the employment index remained unchanged at 143 in March.
The report showed that 16 of the 20 industries monitored by the index showed positive annual growth trends. Commerce activity continued to maintain steady momentum with transportation and warehousing, retail and wholesale trade recording solid annual growth rates.
The employment index is a broad and comprehensive monthly analysis of U.S. online job demand conducted by Monster Worldwide based on a real-time review of millions of employer job opportunities culled from a large, representative selection of corporate career sites and job boards.


More FOREX-news on pages InstaForex.Com

[B]China Inflation Rebounds Beyond Expectations[/B] Inflation in China increased more than expected in March after easing to a twenty-month low in February, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed Monday. The latest rise in inflation rate was mainly driven by rising food costs. Inflation rose to 3.6 percent in March from 3.2 percent inFebruary. Economists had forecast an increase to 3.4 percent. Foodinflation accelerated to 7.5 percent from 6.2 percent in the previousmonth, partly led by a 6.1 percent annual surge in costs of freshvegetables.
Last month, Premier Wen Jiabao set an inflation target of 4percent for 2012, the same as that of 2011. Inflation exceeded thetarget every month last year due to higher food prices.
The government hiked fuel prices for the second time in less thansix weeks in March amid mounting pressure from the country'srefineries to respond to the rising international crude prices. Thismight have added to inflationary pressures with China being thesecond-largest oil consumer after the U.S.
The price index for transportation and communications rose to 0.3percent, recovering from February's 0.4 percent fall. Utility costsadvanced 2.6 percent year-on-year in March.
The statistical office also noted that the house prices increased2 percent from the previous year. Wen had pledged to continueproperty market curbs to rein in prices, which, according to him, arestill far from "reasonable levels."
In February, the People's Bank of China decided to cut the banks'reserve requirement rate by 50 basis points for the second time inthree months to boost growth, but refrained from an interest ratereduction fearing inflation surge from possible spike in global fuelprices.
Separately, the statistical office said that the producer priceindex fell 0.3 percent from March 2011. The outcome was in line withexpectations and followed a flat reading in February. Prices havebeen falling steadily since July last year.
The government targets 7.5 percent growth for the economy thisyear, lower than the previous target of 8 percent. The economicgrowth slowed to 9.2 percent in 2011 from 10.4 percent in 2010.

[SIZE=2][I]http://instaforex.com/forex-news.php] More FOREX-news on pages InstaForex.Com[/I]