New Overnight Developments Abroad: Higher Risk Aversion Sends Stocks Lower and Dollar Up
May 14, 2009
The dollar climbed 0.5% against the Australian dollar, 0.4% relative to sterling, 0.3% against the euro, 0.2% versus the Swissy and kiwi, and 0.1% against the Canadian dollar. The yen is steady, moving up in tandem with the dollar.
Japan’s Nikkei fell 2.6%. Elsewhere in the Pacific Rim, stocks fell 3.4% in Australia, 3.0% in Hong Kong, 1.3% in New Zealand, 2.8% in South Korea, 3.6% in Indonesia, 1.2% in India, 1.1% in Malaysia, 1.9% in Taiwan, and 4.7% in Thailand. In Europe, the German Dax and Paris Cac are 0.5% and 0.3% lower.
Gilt, bund, and JGB ten-year yields have moved down.
Oil fell by 1.8% to $57.00/barrel. Gold edged 0.3% lower to $922.90/ounce.
Spanish real GDP fell 1.8% last quarter, nearly twice as much as in 4Q08, and on-year negative growth swelled to 2.9% from 0.7%. The results were in line with analyst expectations.
The ECB conducted a survey of forecasters, who now look for Euroland GDP to drop 3.4% this year and only recover 0.2% in 2010.
Swiss producer prices were unchanged in April, while import prices fell by 0.5% and 7.6% from April 2008. The combined PPI/import price index slid 0.2% and by 3.6% from a year earlier. Its 12-month change had been -2.8% in March but +3.6% in April 2008.
Dutch consumer price inflation slowed to 1.8% in April from 2.0% in March. Finnish CPI inflation edged down a tenth to 0.8%. Russian producer prices fell 4.1% in the year to April.
Industrial output in Hungary fell 15.6% in the year to March.
U.S. jobless claims and producer prices will be released at 12:30 GMT. A Turkish central bank rate cut is likely today.
Copyright 2009 Larry Greenberg. All rights reserved. No secondary distribution without express permission.