May 21, 2008
The euro rose one cent against the dollar and climbed to the highest in three weeks versus the U.K. pound after German business confidence unexpectedly increased.
The euro also gained versus the Japanese yen after the Munich-based Ifo institute said its business-climate index rose in May.
The yen advanced to the highest in more than a week against the dollar as a decline in European and Asian stocks prompted investors to pare holdings of higher-yielding assets funded in the Japanese currency.
The Australian dollar rose to a 24-year high against the U.S. currency.
After a high of 1.5773, the Euro is quoting now at 21:06 (GMT+8 ) 1.5736.
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Posted by fvarga
May 21, 2008
Oil prices are heading to almost $140 a barrel in the next eight years, according to futures contracts on the New York Mercantile Exchange, on concern that growth in supply may fail to keep pace with rising demand.
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Posted by fvarga
May 21, 2008
The BoE voted 8 to 1 to keep the benchmark rate unchanged at 5.00% at their May 8th policy meeting due to inflation concerns.
Perennial dove David Blanchflower was the only dissenter calling for a quarter point cut.
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Posted by fvarga
May 21, 2008
The euro may set a record high of $1.62 within three months as surging global trade shows the world economy remains strong, keeping the European Central Bank from cutting borrowing costs, according to Bank of Tokyo- Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd.
The Baltic Dry Index, which tracks transportation costs on international trade routes, rose to a record today and has increased 32 percent this year.
The Baltic Dry Index rose 0.7 percent to 11,793 points, according to the Baltic Exchange in London today. The daily correlation between movement in the index and the euro-dollar exchange rate has been 0.87 for the last four years, with the former leading the currencies by five working days.
Crude oil rose above $129 a barrel in New York for the first time today after hedge-fund manager Boone Pickens said that oil will reach $150 a barrel this year because supply isn’t keeping up with demand.
The euro rose 1.1 percent to $1.5675 yesterday, and reached the highest since April 28, as speculation increased that the ECB will keep its benchmark interest rate at a six-year high of 4 percent.
The euro touched $1.6019 on April 22, the strongest since its debut in January 1999.
Euro is at posting time (08:15 - GMT+8 ) at 1.5657.
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Posted by fvarga
May 21, 2008
The dollar struggled against the majors in the Tuesday session on a combination of soaring oil prices, higher inflation data and sentiment that the ECB will stick to its hawkish bias while US rates remain low.
The monthly PPI reading in April increased by 0.2% versus a 1.1% increase in March, while the core readings jumped up to 0.4% m/m from 0.2% in March and up to 3.0% from 2.7% a year earlier.
The euro climbed to a near one-month high against the greenback at 1.5679 following an unexpected surge in Germany’s producer prices.
Germany’s April PPI jumped to 1.1%, defying expectations for a decline to 0.5% versus 0.7% from the previous month while spiking to 5.2% compared with calls for a slight increase to 4.6% from 4.2% a year earlier.
The stronger than forecast inflation data raises speculation that the ECB will likely maintain its hawkish bias and keep rates unchanged thereby holding its interest rate differential over the US.
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