Economic and company news by ForexMart

December 13, 2016

Oil Prices Surge to Highest Levels in Almost Two Years Following Production Cuts Pledges from Non-OPEC Countries

Crude oil prices rose to its highest levels in over 17 months following Saudi Arabia’s pledge to cut back on its oil production more than the previous agreement, as well as a pledge from non-OPEC countries to implement production cuts next year. Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister has already stated that the country will be cutting back well below the predetermined target, and non-OPEC nations followed suit, with the said countries agreeing on cutting back by up to 558,000 bpd next year. This particular agreement is the first of its kind between OPEC members and non-OPEC members during a 15-year period.

December 14, 2016
USD Stabilizes as Fed’s Two-Day Meeting Commences
The USD had a somewhat muted trading session since traders are now closely monitoring Federal Reserve as the FOMC’s two-day meeting has already begun. The market is currently expecting the USD to have a somewhat inactive reaction to the Fed’s speculated 25-point interest rate hike, but could exhibited an increased volatility with regards to its price once Fed Chair Janet Yellen speaks on the press conference following the FOMC meeting. The market liquidity expected for this month has already been augmented by the results of the Fed meeting, especially since traders are now more concerned with the central bank’s future plans than with the Fed rate hike this month.

December 15, 2016
USD Surges to Highest Levels in Two Weeks as Federal Reserve Hikes Interest Rates
The USD surged to its highest levels in almost two weeks after the FOMC finally decided to increase its interest rates, with the funds target rate increasing by up to 25 bps. The central bank also opened its doors for a possibility of a total of three interest rate hikes this coming 2017, and while this is currently seen as a hawkish move on the part of the central bank, foreign exchange transactions exhibited less activity than what was initially expected during the trading hours following the said decision by the Federal Open Market Committee or the FOMC.

December 20, 2016

Italian Government Solicits €20bn to Support Their Struggling Banks
The Italian government waiting for parliamentary approval to borrow as much as 20 billion Euro equivalent to 17 billion pound to backed up weak banking sector especially Monte dei Paschi. This puts pressure to the newly elected Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni afraid to suffer losses regards to bailout rules of European Union.
He indicated that this serves as a preventive measure to protect savings. Also, Pier Carlo Padoan the Italian economy minister said that this would be used to induce liquidity in the banking industry to support troubled banks. They are looking for ways to pay losses incurred by retail investors.

December 20, 2016
Oil Ends Up Near $52 BPD as Investors Monitor Return of Libyan Crude
Oil prices ended up at nearly $52 barrels per day after investors shifted their focus to the possibility of Libyan crude oil supply returning as well as output cut returns in January following the recent agreement between OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers to cut back on oil production. The market is now expecting major cutbacks from major oil suppliers starting next year, with Saudi Arabia said to be planning to cutback smaller crude oil volumes being sold to Asia as compared to other regions.

December 20, 2016
German Business Climate Hit A Higher Level in December
The highly-regarded business climate index of the Germany published its data which showed an upbeat for the month of December, considering the economic indicator to attain its highest rate since February 2014. According to the quantification of Munich Institute for Economic Research (Ifo), the index amp up to 110.4 points last month and earned 111 points for December by which presented a better-than-expected result of the market and economists, the anticipated outcome is only 110.7 points.
The Business Expectations Index is designed to gauge various sentiments regarding the probable profits from businesses for the following six months have increased up to 105.6 for the last month of this year and exceeded the 105.5 expectations.
Clemens Fuest, President of the Ifo, said that the economic status of Germany had established a more stabilize position until the last month of 2016. The 48-year-old economist also mentioned that there is an increase in the indices of wholesale and industrial sales. In addition to it, various companies under the manufacturing sector also plan to expand its production for the following months.

December 21, 2016
U.S College Graduates to Enter the 'Strongest Job Market’ in a Decade, says Fed Chair
On Monday, the Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen spoke to the graduates of the University of Baltimore and leave the words “Get a college degree”, Yellen affirmed these to the young Americans because the U.S job market are becoming the strongest among other countries since the unemployment rate is as low as 4.6% since 2007. Moreover, policymakers also acknowledged the development in the economy for the previous week which made them decide a second-time rate hike after a decade.
The Fed Chair also stated that the future of the job seekers seems positive, particularly for a college degree holder by which the unemployed college graduates is approximately 2.3%.
She also mentioned the two important forces, improving technologies and globalization, to complete the formal learning of the higher education.
Moreover, she did not discuss anything about her work regarding monetary policy.

December 27, December 27, 2016
Expected Resurgence of Russia in 2017
After years of recession, Russia is about to come back for next year. Although it does not mean performance in the stock market that has already increased by 40% to the present. The Russian Finance Minister said that the economy will grow by 1.5% from a -3% advancement in the past two years.
Investors also strive for a removal of sanctions in 2017 concerning oil and gas after a certain company lost $1 billion due to Russian penalties. The GDP for 2016 is projected to position at -0.5% which an improvement than the predicted -0.6% according to the Ministry of Economic Development. Nonetheless, this year will not close positively but a promising start in 2017 after getting behind for 2 years.

December 27, 2016
US Consumer Sentiment Rose in December Since 2004
The victory of Donald Trump caused the consumer confidence index (CCI) to continuously increased according to the survey conducted by the University of Michigan. The CCI rose to 98.2 which is considered its highest level from 2004, closed to its initial estimate of 98. The growth of sentiment index seems passive compared during the post-election period which took place as the December begins and in November as well.
Moreover, consumers heightened their confidence since number of jobs are improved. However, the survey made last month showed that the people who are confident are those who attained a college degree as well as those families from the Northeast.
This improvement stimulates the hope for an economic boom, however, it does not necessarily mean for an immediate economic expansion. It is inclined with the actual data that was evaluated from the US economy amid the election period. The economists said that the confidence can be maintained but with the help of the administration who will generate evident results.

December 27, 2016
USD Retreats from China-backed Increase, Sets Record Lows Against Yen

The USD dropped from its recently high levels during the mid-morning trading session in spite of maintaining some of its profits as opposed to majority of its G-10 colleagues. The dollar dropped immediately after China’s Xi Jinping released a statement saying that he is open to China’s economic growth retreating below the country’s target of 6.5%. The USD/JPY traded at 117.26 points after posting session lows of 117.18 points.

December 28, 2016
US Stocks Trade Near Record High as Oil Prices Surge, Bonds Drop
US stocks traded within its record highs in the midst of low market liquidity after oil prices clocked in its longest gain streak within a four-month period. Meanwhile, US treasuries dropped following a weakening in the demand in a two-year notes auction. The rise in oil prices for the seventh straight day is a response to anticipation from majority of market players that the recent production cuts from both non-OPEC and OPEC member nations will be vital in the reduction of a supply surplus.

December 28, 2016
Vietnam Fast Economic Growth Gained More Than 6% in GDP
Vietnam’s economy rose by 6.21% this year being the fastest country to grow in the manufacturing sector. Its trade exports remain strong as it grew by 8.6% for this year despite sluggish global that is affecting other countries such as Singapore and China.

The Gross Domestic Product climbed 6.68% in the fourth quarter last year while an improvement of 6.56% was seen since September as stated by the General Statistics Office of Hanoi. The forecasted economic growth of the country by the Asian Development Bank is 63 percent for 2017 giving a positive outlook in the next several years and standout from the rest of Asian countries.

December 28, 2016
China’s Economy Remains Stable Until 2017
The Bureau of Statistics released the GDP of China showing 6.7% growth during the previous three quarters of 2016. The world’s second-largest economy established a stable growth which is a sign for the possible completion of the country’s target for the year.
The issued data further presented an economic stability under the industrial sector, consumption and investing sector from October to November. While the service industry rose because of an upbeat in agriculture. Chinese officials from the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) are confident that the positive trends will continue until 2017. Stephen Roach, an economist told the China Daily that the attainment of the government’s target GDP growth will account for 1.2 percentage points.

December 29, 2016
USD Reaches 14-Year Highs as EUR Plummets to Lowest Levels in 2016
The US dollar surged to its highest levels for this week and has nearly reached its highest trading range since 2002 as seen in the DXY index. Meanwhile, the EUR received the brunt of losses against the USD as compared to other currencies after losing about 0.6% of its previous trading value. Dollar gains were somewhat paired after the 10-year Treasury yields dropped to new session lows of 2.52% following a high auction demand for 5-year notes worth $34.0 billion.

January 3, 2017
Singaporean GDP Surges as Economic Growth Exceeds Expectations
The economic growth of Singapore has heightened significantly and has recently recorded its fastest growth within a three-year span during the previous quarter as a result of services and manufacturing data regaining some of its recent losses. The nation’s GDP increased by 9.1% during the last quarter of 2016, its fastest pace since the second quarter of 2013. Meanwhile, the overall annual growth for 2016 clocked in at a growth of 1.8%, the country’s slowest GDP growth since 2009.

January 3, 2017

Highest Remittances to Mexico Surged Over 10 Years Due to Trump’s Victory

The Remittances to Mexico has set a record-high in November over the past ten years er induced by the victory of Trump in U.S. presidential election. He has put the confidence in peso down bringing to record lows after the unexpected win of Trump and put at risk the money transfers. Trump has threatened Mexicans that money transfers will be hampered until there’s an agreement for payment for building the enormous wall to fence off all the illegal immigrants.
Almost $2.4 billion transfers were tallied from Mexicans abroad ranking higher than last year 24.7 percent, marking as their rapid expansion since March 2006. The Central bank of Mexico publicized that the recorded $27 billion remittances to Mexico in 2016 higher than the $2 billion in 2015

January 3, 2017

The Outlook for the Economy in 2017

The expected economic performance for 2017 appears to be very much alike with 2016 outlook. The economists surveyed by Reuters said it would be “uneven and unspectacular”. The optimism from investors is the result of the world economy breakout. While experts also mentioned the slowdown within the global trading as it became evident amid the minor recovery in the financial depression begun almost after a decade.
The emerging market remained to be seen as susceptible. The Asian markets are expected to have lesser growth seeing the 2017 prediction for global growth is 3.2 percent whereby the calculation appeared to be slightly less confident compared with last year.
The strength of the US dollar versus other currencies had influence developing economies in regulating a higher rate of inflation and with regards the declining index of business confidence.
The American economy had a high need for improving the output of every worker in order to prosper. On the other hand, the eurozone had recently accelerated since the European Central Bank had continuously purchase bonds per month worth ten billion euro. Moreover, the ongoing elections in the countries France, Germany and Netherlands is regarded a threat to the status quo of the Euro region.
Finally, the tightening campaigns of the central banks weakened the power of the global monetary policy.

January 4, 2017
Positive US Economic Data Stimulates Three-Month Dollar Index Surge
The USD has recently surged to its highest levels in 14 years as a string of highly positive economic data from the US increased the bullish outlook for the said currency this 2017. The USD increased further after US manufacturing data exhibited its fastest pace during a two-year period. Traders are now waiting for the release of the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s meeting which is set on Wednesday, as well as the US employment data which is scheduled to be released this coming Friday. as these are expected to determine whether the increasing value of the US dollar would still be retained in the coming days.

January 4, 2017
Oil Price Climbed Due to Limited supply
Oil moved higher this day as price hikes caused by the supply reduction of crude from top oil exporters such as Saudi Arabia. Moreover, the appreciation of U.S. dollar and steady advancement of the economy have limited returns.
Physical oil supplies has been constricted since production output has significantly lessened which was enacted to end the oil glut. Hence, oil producers were propelled to raise its prices. On the other hand, imports also became expensive because of U.S. dollar strengthening. The official selling price is set to increase in February.

January 4, 2017
Positive US Economic Data Stimulates Three-Month Dollar Index Surge
The USD has recently surged to its highest levels in 14 years as a string of highly positive economic data from the US increased the bullish outlook for the said currency this 2017. The USD increased further after US manufacturing data exhibited its fastest pace during a two-year period. Traders are now waiting for the release of the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s meeting which is set on Wednesday, as well as the US employment data which is scheduled to be released this coming Friday. as these are expected to determine whether the increasing value of the US dollar would still be retained in the coming days.

January 5, 2017
US Treasuries Whipsaw as FOMC Minutes Shifts Focus on USD and Fiscal Policies
US Treasuries careened between losses and gains after the minutes from the FOMC meeting last December showed that majority of the Federal Reserve’s officials have shifted their focus on slowing down the frequency of interest rate hikes. The minutes also revealed that various risks from the central bank’s fiscal policies is seen as a catalyst for speedier economic growth. The minutes of the FOMC showed a docile hawkishness but lacked any dovishness in its stance.

January 5, 2017
Inflation rate in the Eurozone Rack Up
The inflation rate in the European region had increased, reaching its highest pace after three years. The surge is driven by the price hike for alcohol and tobacco, energy and food.
Based on the report from the Eurostat, the inflation percentage for December gained 1.1% which is notably higher from November’s result of 0.6%.
The highest rate occurred last 2013 in the month of September by which the result is also 1.1%. The final outcome is higher-than-expected which made the ECB’s target less than 2%.
The energy prices surge by 2.5% yearly, while the value of food and intoxicants grew by 1.2% year over year. Moreover, the energy costs rose due to OPEC’s resolution to decrease the production output.
The sharp jump lessened the fears of Europe regarding the possible deflation which could weakened the eurozone’s economic growth. Meanwhile, other core prices compelled by world markets had a limited rise from 0.8% to 0.9% only, this little progress would mean that the December’s inflation is “short-lived” according to analysts.

January 5, 2017
Countermeasures of China to Curb Yuan in 2017
Yuan rallied this year especially the offshore trading and China is creating its contingency plan to curb the capital outflows for 2017. The offshore yuan climbed 0.9 percent to 6.8958 against U.S. dollar which is the highest increment since January 2016.
This plan was thought to counter recovering U.S. dollar while country’s capital outflow increases. Moreover, the ongoing threat from changes in U.S. policies regarding exports under Trump’s presidency. China might also sell U.S. Treasuries this year if necessary to secure the currency. This is predicted to expand the supply for foreign exchange within the onshore market and in return would support yuan in the short term.

January 10, 2017

USD Surges as Traders Boost Odds for Interest Rate Hike in March

The US dollar surged in value against the Japanese yen and remained just above 117.00 points for the duration of the Asian trading session after a series of US data, including the US jobs and wage data increased the possibility that the Federal Reserve would be increasing its interest rates again this year. The market odds for an interest rate hike for 2017 increased from 31% to 35%, while the sterling pound dropped in value after UK Prime Minister Theresa May remained steadfast in her decision to remove the UK from the whole of the European Union.

January 10, 2017

Pound Dropped due to May’s Brexit Remarks

The British currency declined by 1% and fell sharply to its two-month low versus other major pairs due to the commentary made by Prime Minister Theresa May. The 60-year old politician announced that the country will continue conducting the hard Brexit. The weakness of the pound was felt generally by other currencies except by the Turkish lira. Furthermore, PM May also told in an interview that she prefer to embed the best arrangement to work out regarding the EU exit. She mentioned also that the idea to "keep bits of membership" is already excluded.
On Monday, the Great Britain pound is relatively lower by 1.05% compared with the U.S dollar with $1.2155 and down at 1.41% against the euro at €1.1501.
According to Neil Wilson, markets analyst at ETX Capital, the sterling retreated after May expressed her remarks which signaled that the UK government would not prioritize single market access thus will focus more on immigration border law.