Loonie Rises to 5-Month High vs. U.S. Dollar - General

HYM 2012.03.02 06:45 #31

Canada Dollar Rises to Highest Since September on Global Outlook

2012-03-01 18:35:21.524 GMT

By Austen Sherman and Chris Fournier

March 1 (Bloomberg) -- Canada’s dollar gained to a five- month high against its U.S. counterpart on optimism demand for raw materials will accelerate as the global economy expands.

The currency rose for a fourth day, the longest string of advances in more than a month, as jobless claims in the U.S., the nation’s biggest trade partner, fell to the lowest level in four years. It gained versus the majority of its most-traded peers before data tomorrow that may show the Canadian economy grew in the fourth quarter. China’s manufacturing expanded, a report showed.

“The data coming out at the moment from the major economies seems reasonably encouraging,” said Tom Levinson, a currency strategist in London at ING Groep NV. In the absence of “another issue from the euro zone, the expectation would be that those riskier assets, commodities, commodity currencies and emerging market high-yielding currencies all extend the gains that they’ve already put on this year.”

Canada’s currency, nicknamed the loonie for the image of the aquatic bird on the C$1 coin, advanced 0.5 percent to 98.46 cents per U.S. dollar at 1:33 p.m. in Toronto. It reached 98.42 cents, the strongest since Sept. 19. One Canadian dollar purchases $1.0156.

The loonie briefly pared gains after a gauge of U.S.

manufacturing unexpectedly fell last month. The Institute for Supply Management’s factory index declined to 52.4, from 54.1 in January, the Tempe, Arizona-based group’s data showed today.

Stocks rose, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index advancing

0.8 percent and the MSCI World Index gaining 0.5 percent.

Raw Materials

The Canadian currency has gained 3.7 percent this year versus the U.S. dollar on increased demand for higher-yielding assets. Canada derives about half its export revenue from raw materials such as crude oil, its biggest export, and copper, lumber, gold and wheat.

Crude rallied a second day as the U.S. boosted pressure on Iran to halt its nuclear program and escalated warnings the Persian Gulf oil producer may be attacked. That spurred bets global supplies of the commodity may shrink. Crude for April delivery gained 1.1 percent to $108.11 a barrel in New York, approaching a nine-month high of $109.95 reached last week.

Canada’s dollar would probably weaken if oil prices were to surge amid market shocks centered on Iran because such an event would damp appetite for riskier assets as investors sought haven, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch. The currency has been more highly correlated with risk than with oil over the past year, it said.

‘Risk-Off Scenario’

“An oil shock precipitated by an event such as an attack on Iran would certainly be a risk-off scenario, as opposed to longer-term increases resulting from an offshoot of stronger growth,” David Grad and John Shin, New York-based currency strategists at the firm, wrote in a client note today. “The risk-off effect would dominate the oil-price effect.”

The loonie’s 120-day correlation coefficient with the S&P

500 today was 0.86. A reading of 1 would indicate they move in lockstep. The currency’s correlation coefficient with crude oil futures was 0.59.

Applications for unemployment benefits in the U.S. fell to

351,000 in the week ended Feb. 25, a level matching the lowest since March 2008, Labor Department figures showed today.

Economists in a Bloomberg survey forecast 355,000 claims.

In China, the purchasing managers’ index rose for a third month, rising to 51.0 from 50.5 in January, the statistics bureau and logistics federation said in a statement today. It was the highest level since September. The dividing line between expansion and contraction is 50.

Current Account

Canada’s dollar remained higher as data showed then nation’s current account deficit for the fourth quarter narrowed to C$10.3 billion ($10.5 billion) compared with a revised C$12.3 billion in the third quarter, Statistics Canada said in Ottawa.

Government bonds fell, pushing the yield on Canada’s benchmark 10-year note up four basis points, or 0.04 percentage point, to 2.02 percent. The price of the 3.25 percent security due in June 2021 dropped 32 cents to C$110.31.

The loonie rose for a second day versus the euro, its first back-to-back gains in two weeks, as euro-area finance ministers discussed the region’s sovereign-debt crisis before a European Union summit. It appreciated 0.6 percent to C$1.3110 to the 17- nation currency.

The Canadian currency climbed 1.5 percent yesterday against the euro, the most since May 2011, after the European Central Bank loaned 800 euro-area banks 529.5 billion euros ($712.2

billion) to shore up liquidity.

The loonie may be approaching a retreat against its U.S.

counterpart. The greenback was at 31.3 today on the 14-day relative strength index against the Canadian dollar, compared with 35.6 yesterday. A reading below 30 signals an asset may be due to reverse direction.

The Canadian dollar gained 1.1 percent over the past week against nine developed-nation counterparts monitored by Bloomberg Correlation Weighted Currency Indexes. The U.S. dollar fell 0.3 percent, and the euro declined 0.8 percent.

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--Editors: Greg Storey, Kenneth Pringle

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HYM 2012.03.05 05:17 #32

U.S. Stocks Retreat as Euro, Oil Fall; Treasuries, Bunds Climb

2012-03-02 20:36:53.158 GMT

By Stephen Kirkland and Rita Nazareth

March 2 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks fell, pulling the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index down from an almost four-year high, while the euro weakened and Treasuries gained as Spain raised its budget-deficit estimate for 2012 and German retail sales unexpectedly declined. Bond risk rose and oil declined

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index lost 0.2 percent at 3:34 p.m. in New York, while the Stoxx Europe 600 Index added 0.1 percent. The euro slid 0.8 percent to $1.3209. Spain’s 10-year yield increased for the first time in three days and the cost of insuring European sovereign bonds rose for the first time in four days. Ten-year Treasury yields lost four basis points

1.98 percent and German bund yields slipped seven basis points to 1.8 percent. Oil tumbled 2 percent to $106.70 a barrel.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy announced a new deficit target of 5.8 percent of gross domestic product compared with the 4.4 percent target previously agreed with the European Union. Sales in Germany declined 1.6 percent from December, compared with a 0.5 percent gain predicted by economists, the Federal Statistics Office said today.

“There’s a whole too far, too fast thing,” Rick Fier, director of equity trading at Conifer Securities LLC in New York, said in a telephone interview. His firm oversees more t

$12 billion. “We don’t think that means it’s going to have a huge pullback, but a consolidation would be a reli

Energy shares had the biggest decline in the S&P 500 among

10 groups as crude oil fell after yesterday topping $110 a barrel. Big Lots Inc. slumped 4.3 percent as sales missed analysts’ estimates. Yelp Inc., the site that lets users review everything from diners to dentists, surged as much as 73 percent in its first day of trading. Sara Lee Corp. rose 6.8 percent after saying it will spin off a coffee-and-tea unit

Weekly Gain at Risk

Today’s decline threatened to send the S&P 500 to a weekly loss for just the second time this year, trimming its five-day gain to 0.4 percent. The index is up 9 percent in 2012 and has rallied 25 percent from its 2011 low in October amid improving economic data and better-than-forecast earnings

“We have positive signs for the Dow, the S&P” and other major indexes,’’ Louise Yamada, technical analyst at Louise Yamada Technical Research Advisors LLC, told Bloomberg Television’s Tom Keene. “We suspect that any pullback or pause here should be one that refreshes.” Yamada said on Feb. 8 that the Nasdaq Composite Index has entered a bull market and stocks may continue to rally through the end of

Euro Weakens

The euro weakened against 11 of 16 major peers, while the dollar strengthened against 14 of 16. The Dollar Index, a gauge of the currency against six major peers, climbed for a third day, rising 0.8 percent to 79.422. The yen depreciated 0.7 percent against the dollar, leaving it lower for the fourth consecutive week, the longest run of declines since November 2010.

Euro-area finance ministers authorized yesterday the region’s bailout fund to issue bonds for the Greek debt restructuring, the first step in releasing funds from the rescue package

Spain’s 10-year bond yield increased four basis points t

4.90 percent after yesterday sliding to the lowest in a month.

Spain raised its budget deficit target for 2012 as a deepening economic slump hampers efforts to rein in the euro area’s fourth-biggest shortfall

“I didn’t communicate the deficit target to the heads of state, nor do I have to,” Rajoy said after a summit of European leaders in Brussels today. “This is a sovereign decision taken by Spain and I will communicate it to the commission in April, just like the rest of the countr

Italian Bonds

The yield on Italy’s 10-year bond fell four basis points t

4.91 percent, after climbing as much as 10 basis points. Bonds erased declines after a report showed the economy expanded 0.4 percent last year, topping a 0.3 percent forecast. The price of Italy’s 10-year security climbed for the eighth successive week, the longest run since a nine-week streak ended March 1998

The Greek 10-year bond tumbled for the third day, driving the yield 66 basis points higher to a record 37.1 percent.

The Markit iTraxx SovX Western Europe Index of credit- default swaps on 15 governments climbed 8.9 basis points to 346.

European banks climbed 0.6 percent as a group after they were upgraded by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. analysts, who said they anticipate a boost in liquidity and profit from the European Central Bank’s three-year loans

The banking industry was raised to “overweight” from “neutral,” according to a Goldman note to clients dated March 1. Even after this year’s gain by shares of the region’s lenders, the stocks are still not expensive, analysts including Matthieu Walterspiler and Sharon Bell

Commodities

The S&P GSCI gauge of 24 commodities fell 1.3 percent, heading for the first weekly retreat in four weeks. Gold for immediate delivery dropped 0.7 percent to $1,709.80 an ounce in London, on track for a 3.7 percent loss this week, the steepest weekly decline in 2 1/2 months.

Oil fell for the first time in three days after Saudi Arabia denied a report of a pipeline explosion in its Eastern province and President Barack Obama said a pre-emptive strike on Iran might generate sympathy for the Persian Gulf country, easing concern that an attack would take place.

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--With assistance from Adria Cimino in Paris, John Deane, Will Hadfield, Abigail Moses, Daniel Tilles, Rob Verdonck and Jason Webb in London and Lynn Thomasson in Hong Kong. Editors: Michael P. Regan, Nick Baker

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HYM 2012.03.06 04:22 #33

Canadian Dollar Falls for Second Day on Lower China Growth View

2012-03-05 12:34:44.51 GMT

By Chris Fournier

March 5 (Bloomberg) -- Canada’s dollar depreciated versus its U.S. counterpart for a second day and fell against a majority of its most-traded counterparts after China lowered its growth forecast, crimping demand for higher-risk assets

The currency touched the lowest level in almost a week, dropping for the first day in five versus the yen. Canada’s central bank meets on March 8 to determine interest rates, with all 25 economists in a Bloomberg survey predicting no change from 1 percent. Crude oil and stocks fell

“We were a bit risk averse going into the weekend; the China slowdown has added to that,” said Kit Juckes, head of foreign-exchange research at Societe Generale SA in Londo

“The Canadian dollar will perform much in line with risk hesitation. I’m optimistic medium term but I think all of these moves have run out of steam a little bit,” he said, referring to recent gains in commodity-linked currenci

Canada’s currency, nicknamed the loonie for the image of the aquatic bird on the C$1 coin, fell 0.5 percent to 99.42 cents per U.S. dollar at 7:33 a.m. in Toronto. It traded a

99.60 cents, the weakest since Feb. 28. One Canadian dollar purchases $1.0058.

The currency capped its strongest weekly gain since January on March 2 on speculation officials are containing Europe’s debt crisis and as U.S. economic indicators improve, bolstering optimism that quickening global growth will raise demand for Canada’s exports such as crude oil and coppe

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--Editor: Dave Liedtka

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HYM 2012.03.06 04:23 #34

S&P 500 Has Biggest Two-Day Decline in 2012 on Economic Concern

2012-03-05 19:48:10.710 GMT

By Rita Nazareth

March 5 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks fell, giving the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index its biggest two-day drop in 2012, after China reduced its economic growth target and orders to American factories decreased for the first time in three months.

Commodity, technology and industrial shares had the biggest losses among 10 S&P 500 groups. Alcoa Inc. and Caterpillar Inc.

slid at least 1.8 percent. Apple Inc. slumped 2.4 percent, snapping a seven-day rally. Bank of America Corp. and Citigroup Inc. each dropped 1.7 percent to pace declines in financial shares. Zynga Inc., the biggest developer of games for social- networking sites, tumbled 5.8 percent after being downgraded.

The S&P 500 retreated 0.5 percent to 1,362.45 at 2:46 p.m.

New York time. The index dropped 0.9 percent in two days, the biggest decline since Dec. 28. The Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased 25.88 points, or 0.2 percent, to 12,951.69 today. The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 1.1 percent, led by Apple. More than 4.4 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges.

“It’s wise to take a little money off the table,” said David Joy, the Boston-based chief market strategist at Ameriprise Financial Inc. His firm oversees $631 billion. “Some of the easy gains have already been made. We’re back to focusing on the economic fundamentals. China saying that they are targeting 7.5 percent growth raises concern of a hard landing.”

Equities joined a global slump as China pared its growth target to 7.5 percent from an 8 percent goal in place since 2005. In the U.S., data on orders to factories signaled manufacturing is cooling. Bookings fell 1 percent in January after a revised 1.4 percent gain in December that was larger than previously estimated.

Valuation Concern

Stocks advanced last week as data on housing and jobs improved. The S&P 500 fell on March 2 amid concern that a rally to the highest level since 2008 has outpaced growth prospects.

It trades at 14 times reported earnings, the highest since August while still below the average since 1954 of 16.4 times.

“It’s just not an environment that we feel like sticking our neck out to take on a lot of risk,” said Michael Mullaney, who helps manage $9.5 billion at Fiduciary Trust in Boston.

“We’ve been scratching our heads a little bit after the big run-up in equities. We just don’t see a strong enough global economic background to support where prices are right now.”

Companies which are most-dependent on economy growth tumbled, sending the Morgan Stanley Cyclical Index down 1.4 percent. Alcoa, the biggest U.S. aluminum producer, lost 3.3 percent to $9.90. The shares fell the most in the Dow.

Caterpillar, the largest construction and mining-equipment maker, slid 1.8 percent to $110.42.

Banks Slump

The KBW Bank Index declined 1.4 percent. Bank of America slumped 1.7 percent to $8. Citigroup lost 1.7 percent to $33.53 after naming board member Michael O’Neill to be chairman to succeed Richard Parsons, who is stepping down after overseeing the company’s recovery from near-collapse in 2008.

Apple sank 2.4 percent to $532.17, after rallying 6.3 percent in seven days. The company’s market capitalization topped $500 billion for the first time last week as investors anticipated a sales boost from the company’s latest iPad tablet computer, due on March 7.

Zynga tumbled 5.8 percent to $13.84. The company was cut to neutral from overweight by JPMorgan Chase & Co., meaning the shares are expected to perform in line with the stocks the analyst covers over the next six-to-twelve months.

MetroPCS Communications Inc. slipped 5 percent to $10.03, while Leap Wireless International Inc. declined 7.6 percent to $9.75. Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. cut its recommendation for the stocks, saying any takeover bids for the carriers would be “fraught with challenges.”

CF Industries

CF Industries Holdings Inc. fell 5.4 percent to $178.10 after being cut to “neutral” from “buy” at Citigroup Inc.

and removed from the firm’s “Top Picks Live” list.

American International Group Inc. rallied 1.2 percent to $30.16. The insurer that received a bailout after the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. is selling $6 billion of AIA Group Ltd. shares to help pay back the U.S. government.

Big Lots Inc. climbed 3 percent to $44. The discount retailer was raised to “buy” from “neutral” at Northcoast Research. The 12-month share-price estimate is $53.

Corporate profits that doubled since 2009 have left the S&P

500 cheaper than at all 34 peaks since 1989, even as options traders push the cost of protecting against losses to the highest in four years.

Valuation

The S&P 500 rose 102 percent since March 2009 to an almost four-year high last week. Valuations are lower than at every 52- week peak since 1989. Traders have pushed the price of contracts that pay should the S&P 500 drop 20 percent to the most since

2007 compared with ones betting on a rally of the same size.

Rising oil prices and concern European leaders have yet to contain the credit crisis are keeping investors from paying more for profits, which are projected to reach annual records through 2013. Bears say equities aren’t cheap because the profit estimates are too optimistic. Bulls say shrinking price-earnings ratios provide a margin of safety should gains in the U.S.

economy fail to match forecasts.

“Stocks have just gotten too cheap,” Paul Zemsky, the New York-based head of asset allocation for ING Investment Management, said in a telephone interview. His firm oversees

$160 billion. “We were worrying about a Chinese hard landing that didn’t happen. We worried about a U.S. double dip and that didn’t happen. We worried about Europe disintegrating, that didn’t happen. The worst risks have passed.”

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HYM 2012.03.07 05:09 #35

Euro Falls 5th Day Versus Yen as Economy Shrinks; Dollar Rallies

2012-03-06 13:51:03.61 GMT

By Allison Bennett and Keith Jenkins

March 6 (Bloomberg) -- The euro declined for a fifth day against the yen after a report showed the region’s economy contracted last quarter, adding to signs the European debt crisis is hampering global growth

The dollar rose against all its major counterparts except the yen, reaching a two-week high versus the 17-nation currency, a day after Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Richard Fisher said investors should prepare for less U.S. monetary easing. Australia’s dollar weakened for a third day after the central bank said there’s scope to cut interest rate

“Anybody who is short euro, Aussie, the whole risk spectrum, is in control of the market right now, and that’s helping the dollar,” said Boris Schlossberg, director of research at online currency trader GFT Forex in New Yo

“Europe continues to be a basket case and the underperformance of the Aussie is a clear sign that the sheen is off the risk trade

The euro slid 1.3 percent to 106.35 yen at 8:47 a.m. in New York, extending its decline in the past week to 1.7 percent. The shared currency fell 0.7 percent to $1.3128 after dropping to $1.3126, the lowest level since Feb. 17. The dollar slipped 0.7 percent to 81.03 yen.

Euro Pattern

The euro has weakened 0.8 percent in the past week, according to Bloomberg Correlation-Weighted Indexes that track

10 developed-nation currencies. The dollar has strengthened 2 percent, and the yen rose 1.2 percent.

Europe’s gross domestic product shrank 0.3 percent from the third quarter, the region’s statistics office said today, confirming an initial estimate published on Feb. 15. Exports fell 0.4 percent and household spending declined 0.4 percen

The ECB will keep its benchmark interest rate at a record low 1 percent on March 8, a Bloomberg News survey showed.

The euro dropped as Greece struggles to complete a bond exchange with private investors by March 8 in order to receive a

130 billion-euro ($171 billion) bailout. Greece expects bondholders to accept the offer and is ready to force them to participate if necessary, Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos said in a Bloomberg Television interview in Athens yesterday.

“There are still good reasons to sell the euro,” said Chris Walker, a currency strategist at UBS AG in London. “The euro remains for now a risk currency. There is still significant event risk, particularly with regard to the Greek private-sector involvement, and the economic picture remains negati

Fundamental drivers, such as GDP, are pointing downwards.

Options Data

The so-called 25-delta risk reversal rate for the euro versus the dollar was at minus 2.49 percent today, up from minus

2.74 on March 2. A negative rate signals greater demand for euro puts relative to calls. Calls grant the right to purchase a currency, while puts allow for sales.

The yen rose against the dollar for a second day as it rebounded from oversold levels for the first time in 13 days.

Its 14-day relative strength index advanced above the 30 level, which indicates an asset may have declined too far, too quickly, for the first session since Feb. 16.

Demand for the Japanese currency was buoyed as futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 0.8 percent and the MSCI World Index fell 0.8 percent

The U.S. currency appreciated after Fisher said yesterday he opposes additional bond purchases by the central bank. Recent reports have highlighted that U.S. growth is broadening, with data yesterday showing service industries unexpectedly expanded last month at the fastest pace in a year.

Economic Output

“If the data continue to improve, however gradually, the markets should begin preparing themselves for the good Dr. Fed to wean them from their dependency rather than administer further dosage,” Fisher said yesterday in Dalla

Intercontinental Exchange Inc.’s Dollar Index, used to track the greenback against the currencies of six major U.S

trading partners, gained 0.5 percent to 79.749.

The gauge may find it difficult to strengthen further without “clear euro-negative news,” according to Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets, citing trading pattern

The Dollar Index “failed to break above the 50-day moving average at 79.67 and the 76.4 percent Fibonacci retracement of the second half of the February down move at 79.64,” foreign- exchange strategists Adrian Schmidt and Jennifer Hau wrote today in a note to clients. “These levels and the 80 area above them provide significant resistance,” they wr

Dollar Measure

The Dollar Index last rose above 80 Feb. 16, when it reached 80.119, the highest level since Jan. 25, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Australia’s dollar fell to a five-week low after the central bank left its benchmark rate at 4.25 percent and reiterated it has scope to ease monetary policy if needed

The Reserve Bank of Australia said in a statement that while current settings are “appropriate for the moment,” there is scope for easier policy if demand weakens “material

“The RBA has kept an easing bias,” said Lee Wai Tuck, a currency strategist at Forecast Pte in Singapore. “The statement may have been more dovish than some people have expected. I see more downside to the Auss

Australia’s dollar dropped 0.9 percent to $1.0574 after sliding to $1.0566, the lowest since Jan 30

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HYM 2012.03.12 04:05 #36

Gold Gains in New York as Drop to Six-Week Low Attracts Buyers

2012-03-07 13:20:16.49 GMT

By Nicholas Larkin

March 7 (Bloomberg) -- Gold gained for the first time in four days in New York as some investors bought the metal after its drop to the lowest level in almost six weeks.

Bullion slipped 1.9 percent yesterday as the dollar strengthened and commodities slid on concern slower growth will cut demand. The dollar was little changed versus the euro today before tomorrow’s deadline for a Greek bond exchange needed for the nation to receive a second aid package

“Gold is likely to benefit from further investment dip buying interest,” James Moore, an analyst at TheBullionDesk.com in London, said in a report. Still, “the metal remains vulnerable to further pressure in the short-term” after yesterday falling below its 200-day moving average, he s

Gold for April delivery gained 0.5 percent to $1,680.30 an ounce by 8 a.m. on the Comex in New York. It fell to $1,663.40 yesterday, the lowest since Jan. 25. Bullion for immediate delivery rose 0.4 percent to $1,680.20 in London.

Bullion dropped below its 200-day moving average yesterday for the first time since mid-January. Falling below the measure, currently at about $1,674, can be a bearish signal to some investors who study charts. Prices are up 7.2 percent this year and holdings in gold-backed exchange-traded products rose 0.4 metric ton to a record 2,406.3 tons yesterday, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Debt Swap

Societe Generale SA, France’s second-biggest bank, Assicurazioni Generali SpA and UniCredit SpA joined companies saying they would participate in Greece’s debt swap as the country threatened to compel holdouts to take part. The goal of the swap, which runs until March 8, is to reduce by 53.5 percent the total of privately held Greek sovereign debt, helping the country avert an uncontrolled defaul

“With sentiment now on very shaky ground, it’s hard to identify where a floor might arise,” Edel Tully, an analyst at UBS AG in London, wrote today in a report. “Gold needs physical demand to step in, and in size, otherwise further downside seems inevita

Silver for May delivery gained 1 percent to $33.10 an ounce after sliding to $32.49 an ounce yesterday, the lowest price since Jan. 25. It’s the best-performing precious metal this year with a gain of 19 percent

Palladium for June delivery was up 0.7 percent at $676.25 an ounce and fell yesterday to $660.60, the lowest level since Jan. 18. Platinum for April delivery rose 0.7 percent to

$1,623.70 an ounce. It slipped yesterday to a two-week low of $1,606.

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HYM 2012.03.12 04:07 #37

Oil Rises a Third Day as U.S. Payrolls Grow, Bolstering Outlook

2012-03-09 15:40:48.284 GMT

By Mark Shenk

March 9 (Bloomberg) -- Oil climbed for a third day in New York after the U.S. boosted payrolls more than forecast, bolstering optimism that the world’s largest economy and fuel demand will grow.

Futures rose as much as 1.3 percent after Labor Department figures showed that payrolls increased by 227,000 in February. A gain of 210,000 was projected, according to the estimates of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. Greece said it reached its target in the biggest sovereign restructuring in history, reducing the likelihood of a default.

“The jobs data is very positive across the board,” said Jason Schenker, president of Prestige Economics LLC, an Austin Texas-based energy consultant. “This should increase optimism about the U.S. economy and job market in 2012.”

Oil for April delivery climbed $1.33, or 1.2 percent, to

$107.91 a barrel at 10:34 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices have advanced 1.1 percent this week and 9.2 percent this year.

Brent oil for April settlement gained 42 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $125.86 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange.

Revisions added a total of 61,000 jobs to payrolls in December and January, government figures showed. The unemployment rate held at 8.3 percent.

The trade deficit in the U.S. widened in January to the largest since October 2008 as imports rose to a record high. The gap increased 4.3 percent to $52.6 billion, more than forecast, from a revised $50.4 billion in December, the Commerce Department in Washington said today.

“We had a pretty darn good jobs number,” said Phil Flynn, an analyst at PFGBest in Chicago. “More jobs translate into greater demand. The trade deficit data, with record imports, may be tempering optimism a bit.”

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HYM 2012.03.12 04:09 #38

Pound Rises Against Dollar as BOE Maintains Bond-Purchase Target

2012-03-08 13:37:18.94 GMT

By David Goodman

March 8 (Bloomberg) -- The pound rose the most in more than a week against the dollar as the Bank of England said it will leave its debt-purchase program on hold and kept its benchmark interest rate at a record low.

Gilts declined, with 10-year yields rising for the third time in four days. The central bank maintained a pledge to buy

50 billion pounds ($79 billion) of bonds by May under its so- called quantitative-easing program and kept its benchmark interest rate at 0.5 percent. Both decisions were unanimously predicted in separate Bloomberg News surveys of economists. The pound slid against the euro on speculation Greece will attract enough investors to make its debt-swap plan a success.

The decision to announce “no further quantitative easing might support the pound slightly since it is a relief for the market,” You-Na Park, a foreign-exchange strategist at Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt.

The British currency climbed 0.3 percent to $1.5792 at 1:35 p.m. London time after rising 0.6 percent, the biggest advance since Feb. 29. It depreciated 0.4 percent to 83.83 pence per euro, and touched 83.91 pence, the weakest level since Feb. 29.

Investors with about 60 percent of the Greek bonds eligible for the nation’s debt swap have so far indicated they’ll participate, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, putting the country on the verge of the biggest sovereign restructuring in history.

Greek Deal

“News out of Greece will have an effect on euro- sterling,” Park said. “If it looks like the Greek deal will work as planned than this would be positive for the euro.”

The European Central Bank also left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 1 percent, as predicted by 56 out of 58 analysts in a Bloomberg News survey.

Sterling has weakened 1 percent this year, according to Bloomberg Correlation-Weighted Indexes, which track 10 developed-nation currencies. The dollar declined 2.7 percent, and the euro dropped 0.4 percent.

The 10-year gilt yield was three basis points higher at

2.17 percent. The 4 percent security due March 2022 fell 0.28 or

2.80 pounds per 1,000-pound face amount, to 116.405. Two-year yields were little changed at 0.44 percent.

“No one was expecting any changes from the meeting,” John Wraith, a fixed-income strategist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in London, said before the Bank of England decision. “I don’t expect a meaningful reaction in the gilt market.”

The 10-year yield climbed three basis points to 2.23 percent after the central bank raised the ceiling on bond purchases to 325 billion pounds at last month’s meeting.

Gilts have handed investors a 0.8 percent loss this year, according to indexes compiled by Bloomberg and the European Federation of Financial Analysts Societies. U.S. Treasuries have dropped 0.3 percent and German government bonds have gained 0.4 percent.

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--Editors: Paul Dobson, Nicholas Reynolds

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HYM 2012.03.12 09:34 #39

Gold Declines With Commodities on Chinese Data, Dollar Strength

2012-03-12 06:59:51.442 GMT

By Glenys Sim

March 12 (Bloomberg) -- Gold dropped for the first time in four days alongside equities and commodities on concern that China’s economy is slowing and as the dollar strengthened

Spot gold fell as much as 0.7 percent to $1,702.53 an ounce, and traded at $1,705.40 at 2:56 p.m. in Singapore. It climbed to

$1,716.97 earlier, the highest price since March 2. April- delivery metal declined 0.4 percent to $1,705.30 in New York.

“Just as things were looking a bit better in the rest of the world, we are reminded of economic uncertainties that still remain in China,” said Liu Yangyi, an investment consultant at Bank of China Ltd. “Gold is being pressured lower by other risk asse

China’s exports grew at a slower pace than forecast, contributing to the biggest trade deficit in at least 22 years last month, data showed March 10, adding to figures last week on factory output and retail sales that signaled slowing economic growth. That sent equities and commodities lower today

Spot gold of 99.99 percent purity on the Shanghai Gold Exchange traded little changed at 347 yuan a gram ($1,736.69 an ounce), erasing an earlier 1.5 percent advance. Volumes for the benchmark cash contract were 4,205.60 kilograms on March 9, down from 5,072 kilograms the previous day.

The dollar was higher against most peers before a report tomorrow forecast to show retail sales in the U.S. rose in February, damping speculation the Federal Reserve will add to monetary stimulus. It reached the highest level since Jan. 25 against a six-currency basket including the euro and yen.

Wagers Cut

Managed-money firms cut net-long positions in gold futures and options by 26 percent to 145,997 contracts in the week ended March 6, according to U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data. That’s the biggest reduction since August 2008

“CFTC positioning suggests the bullish momentum is slowing and we may see gold trend lower in the near term, especially if the dollar stays strong,” said Ye Yanwu, head of research at Everbright Futures C

U.S. payrolls gained more than forecast in February and Greece completed its government debt swap needed to avert default. That sent global stocks and commodities higher last week and helped gold rebound from a one-month low of $1,663.30 on March 6 to end the week almost unchanged. Assets in exchange- traded products backed by the metal rose to a record 2,408.391 metric tons on March 9, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Spot silver fell for the first time in four days, dropping as much as 1.4 percent to $33.825 an ounce, and last traded at

$33.925 an ounce. Cash platinum also declined for the first day in four, losing as much as 0.7 percent to $1,673 an ounce, before trading at $1,676.50 an ounce. Palladium dropped 0.9 percent to $701.75 an ounce.

For Related News and Information:

Top commodity reports: CTOP

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