Forex News from InstaForex

**InstaForex Gertrude** · 08-07-14, 09:34

U.K. Economy Stabilizes In Q2: BCC

The U.K. economy is still strong and moving in the right direction, the Quarterly Economic Survey from the British Chambers of Commerce showed Tuesday. In manufacturing, balances for domestic sales, profitability confidence and capacity utilization were at their all time highs in the second quarter. At the same time, there were no balances at their all-time highs in services. Meanwhile, exports and investment balances declined in the second quarter, for both manufacturing and services, survey based on responses from 7,000 businesses revealed. Despite these falls, the second quarter export balances and most investment balances are still above their average 2007 pre-recession levels. In the recent economic forecast, BCC predicted that quarterly GDP growth for the second quarter would be 0.8 percent, with full-year growth of 3.1 percent, said David Kern, chief economist at the BCC. However, these results mean that risks of a downgrade have increased. Further, the survey showed that that intentions to raise prices in both manufacturing and services eased and wage pressures weakened in the second quarter.

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**InstaForex Gertrude** · 10-07-14, 07:29

China Has $31.6 Billion Trade Surplus

China posted a merchandise trade surplus of $31.6 billion in June, the customs office said on Thursday. That missed forecasts for a surplus of $36.95 billion, and was down from $35.92 billion in May. Exports were up 7.2 percent on year - also missing expectations for 10.4 percent but up from 7.0 percent in the previous month. Imports gained an annual 5.5 percent versus forecasts for 6.0 percent following the 1.6 percent decline a month earlier.

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**InstaForex Gertrude** · 11-07-14, 08:36

Australian Housing Loans Unchanged In May

The number home loans in Australia remained unchanged in May, figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed Friday. The total number of home loans for owner occupied housing came in at a seasonally adjusted 52,092 in May, remaining roughly unchanged month-over-month. Previously, the figure had declined a revised 0.2 percent in April. This was higher than the consensus estimate for a 0.5 percent decline in home loans. The value of loans for owner occupied housing declined 0.7 percent month-on-month in May, following the 1.3 percent increase in April. The value of total dwelling loans dropped 0.8 percent and the value of investment housing loans fell 0.9 percent in May.

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**InstaForex Gertrude** · 14-07-14, 08:41

New Zealand House Prices Fall In June

New Zealand's house prices index declined percent in June, data from the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand, or REINZ, showed Monday. The REINZ housing price Index dropped 0.3 percent month-over-month to 3,913.3 in June. Prices in Christchurch and Wellington fell 1.9 percent and 4.3 percent, respectively, in June. Meanwhile, prices in Auckland rose 1.6 percent. Annually, the REINZ housing price index rose 6.2 percent in June. The number of dwellings sold decreased 12.3 percent month-on-month and 6.1 percent year-on-year in June.

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**InstaForex Gertrude** · 15-07-14, 08:11

Yen Falls Slightly After BOJ Rate Decision

As expected, the Bank of Japan maintained target for monetary base expansion at an annual pace of 60-70 trillion yen. Following the announcement, the yen fell slightly against other major currencies. The yen was trading at 101.61 against the greenback, 138.36 against the euro, 173.57 against the pound and 113.88 against the franc around 11.10.

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**InstaForex Gertrude** · 21-07-14, 08:54

U.S. Dollar Slides Against Euro, Yen

The U.S. dollar weakened against the euro and the yen in the Asian session on Monday. Against the euro, the U.S. dollar fell to a 4-day low of 1.3537, from an early high of 1.3522. The greenback slipped to 101.21 against the yen, from an early high of 101.37. If the greenback extends its decline, it is likely to find the support around 1.36 against the euro and 100.97 against the yen.

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**InstaForex Gertrude** · 22-07-14, 08:07

Taiwan Unemployment Falls Unexpectedly In June

Taiwan's unemployment rate decreased slightly in June, defying economist estimates for a rise, as the number of unemployed edged down, a government report showed on Tuesday. The jobless rate came in at 3.97 percent in June, marginally less than the 3.99 percent in May. Economists expected the rate to increase to 4 percent. The number of unemployed people fell to 457,000 in June from 460,000 in May. Meanwhile, the number of employed people remained at 11.07 million in June, the same as in May. The participation rate dropped further in June to 58.51 percent in June from 58.55 percent in May.

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**InstaForex Gertrude** · 23-07-14, 07:56

Malaysian Ringgit Rises To Nearly 2-week High Against U.S. Dollar

The Malaysian ringgit strengthened against the U.S. dollar in the Asian session on Wednesday. Against the greenback, the ringgit rose to nearly a 2-week high of 3.1687. At yesterday's close, the ringgit was trading at 3.1765 against the greenback. If the ringgit extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around the 3.15 area.

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**InstaForex Gertrude** · 24-07-14, 07:41

Argentina Trade Surplus Rises In June; Exceeds Expectation

Argentina's trade surplus increased more than expected in June as imports declined more than exports, a report from the National Institute of Statistics and Census showed Wednesday. The trade surplus came in at $1.37 billion in June, more than the $1.35 billion expected by economists and the $1.26 billion surplus in May. Exports fell 3 percent year-over-year to $7.39 million in July. Imports were at $6 billion in July, declining 6 percent year-over-year. On a year-on-year basis, the trade surplus rose 13 percent in July.

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**InstaForex Gertrude** · 25-07-14, 08:10

Malaysia's Unemployment Rate Remains Stable In May

Malaysia's unemployment rate remained unchanged in May, figures from the Department of Statistics showed Friday. The unemployment rate came in at 2.9 percent in May, the same as in the previous month. A year ago, the unemployment rate was 3.3 percent. The number of unemployed in the country decreased to 406,500 persons in May from 407,200 in April. In the same month of last year, the jobless total was 439,400. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate, on a seasonally adjusted basis, rose slightly to 3.0 percent from 2.9 percent in the previous month. A year ago, the jobless rate was 3.4 percent. The labor force participation rate continued to increase in May, to 67.9 percent. That was followed by a 67.3 percent in April and 66.9 percent in March. During the same month of last year, the rate was 66.0 percent.

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**InstaForex Gertrude** · 28-07-14, 09:06

China Industrial Profit Growth Quickens In June

Profits of Chinese industrial firms increased at an accelerated pace in June, a report from the National Bureau of Statistics showed Sunday. Industrial profit rose 17.9 percent year-over-year in June, following the 9 percent increase in May. Total industrial profit in the January to June period rose 11.4 percent compared to the corresponding period of the previous year. For the January to May period, profits had increased 9.8 percent.

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**InstaForex Gertrude** · 29-07-14, 07:44

Japan Has 3.7% Unemployment Rate In June

The unemployment rate in Japan came in at a seasonally adjusted 3.7 percent in June, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said on Tuesday. That missed forecasts for 3.5 percent, which would have been unchanged from the May reading. The job-to-applicant ratio was 1.10 - exceeding expectations for 1.09, which also would have been unchanged. The participation rate was steady at 59.9 percent.

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**InstaForex Gertrude** · 31-07-14, 09:05

New Zealand Money Supply Rises At Faster Rate In June

New Zealand's money supply increased at a faster pace in June, figures from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand showed Thursday. M3 money supply, the broadest measure of money supply, rose 5.4 percent year-on-year to NZ$272.5 billion in June. This follows a 5.2 percent rise in May. M3 resident aggregate money supply, measuring New Zealand dollar funding from the country's residents only, increased 7.2 percent in June following the 6.4 percent growth in the previous month.

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**InstaForex Gertrude** · 01-08-14, 08:00

Malaysian Ringgit Weakens To 4-week Low Against U.S. Dollar

The Malaysian ringgit weakened against the U.S. dollar in the Asian session on Friday. Against the greenback, the ringgit fell to a 4-week low of 3.2092 from an early high of 3.1960. At yesterday's close, the ringgit was trading at 3.1975 against the greenback. If the ringgit extends its downtrend, it is likely to find support around the 3.21 area.

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**InstaForex Gertrude** · 04-08-14, 08:43

New Zealand Commodity Prices Fall Further In July

New Zealand's commodity prices declined for the fifth consecutive month in July, results of a survey by ANZ showed Monday. The ANZ commodity price index fell 2.4 percent month-over-month in July, which was faster than the 0.9 percent decline in June. Whole milk powder prices decreased the most, by 12 percent, in July. Subsequently, prices of diary products such as butter, cheese, skim milk powder and casein declined in July. Prices of apples fell 4.3 percent in July as demand from Europe softened, though the decrease was offset to some degree by demand from Asia. Also, prices of logs and wood declined in July. However, prices of beef increased 11.3 percent in July. Aluminum prices rose 5.5 percent and kiwifruit prices improved 0.9 percent. Sheep meat prices also increased in July. On a year-over-year basis, commodity prices fell 3.3 percent in July, dragged down by the 18.6 percent drop diary prices. However, meat prices rose 21 percent and aluminum prices grew 9.5 percent. In terms of local currency, commodity prices dropped 3.5 percent month-over-month and 11.6 percent year-over-year in July as the New Zealand dollar strengthened.

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**InstaForex Gertrude** · 05-08-14, 07:49

Hong Kong Private Sector Activity Improves In July

Hong Kong's private sector activity expandedin July as output improved, results of a survey by Markit Economics and HSBC Bank showed Tuesday. The HSBC purchasing managers' index, or PMI, for the private sector, rose marginally to 50.4 in July from 50.1 in June. This marked the highest reading in five months and signaled continued expansion in activity. A reading above 50 indicates expansion in private sector activity. Private sector output grew for the first time in five months, though at a slow pace, in July. Client demand improved in July as demand from Mainland China increased. However, new orders declined for the third consecutive month, though at a marginal rate. Job shedding decreased to the slowest rate in four months in July. Input costs increased further but at the second-weakest rate in eleven months. Output prices increased marginally and the rate of increase was the joint-slowest since the start of the current sequence of inflation began in May 2013. "Hong Kong's economy is stabilising, although it is still not yet back to normal as the PMI for July only showed a marginal return to overall growth and new orders remained in contraction. Still, there was an encouraging rebound in new business from China, which could potentially be sustained given the improving economic data from the Mainland of late," said John Zhu, HSBC economist.

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**InstaForex Gertrude** · 06-08-14, 08:03

UK July Shop Prices Fall At Record Rates

Shop prices in the U.K. declined at the fastest rate in survey-history in July, data from the British Retail Consortium showed Wednesday. The shop prices index fell 1.9 percent year-over-year in July following the 1.8 percent fall in June. Economists had expected a 1.6 percent drop in shop prices. This marked the fastest rate of deflation since the series began in December 2006. Food inflation fell to 0.3 percent, the lowest in survey-history. Non-food deflation slowed to 3.3 percent in July from 3.4 in June.

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**InstaForex Gertrude** · 07-08-14, 07:37

Yuan Strengthens To Near 2-month High Against U.S. Dollar

The Chinese yuan strengthened against the U.S. dollar in the Asian session on Thursday. Against the greenback, the yuan rose to nearly a 2-month high of 6.1570. At yesterday's close, the yuan was trading at 6.1625 against the greenback. If the yuan extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around the 6.14 area. The People Bank of China set today's central parity rate for yuan at 6.1670 per dollar, compared to Wednesday's reference rate of 6.1681. The central bank sets the reference rate every morning and allows the currency to move upto 2 percent from that level.

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**InstaForex Gertrude** · 08-08-14, 08:04

Usd/cny Review

Quotes from Standard Chartered:

-China's official manufacturing PMI for July, at 51.7, was the highest since H1-2012. This has translated into a pick-up in sentiment and a sharp rise in the Chinese yuan (CNY).

-Despite broader US dollar (USD) strength causing the fixing to move higher, the move in onshore USD-CNY has caused spot and the fixing to converge. USD-CNY is now trading at the strong end of the band for the first time since March 2014.

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**InstaForex Gertrude** · 12-08-14, 07:25

Australia Business Confidence Climbs In July - NAB

An index measuring business confidence in Australia touched a four-year high in July, the latest survey from National Australia Bank revealed on Tuesday - showing a score of +11.

That's up from +8 in June.T

The index for business conditions came in with a score of +2, rising from +2 in the previous month.

Among the individual components of the survey, home construction, retailing, sales, profitability and employment all showed improvement in July, the bank said.

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