Forex News from InstaForex

Indonesia's Manufacturing Sector Expands For Sixth Month


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The Indonesian manufacturing sector expanded for the sixth successive month in February, but at a slightly weaker pace than in the beginning of the year, data published by Markit Economics and HSBC Bank revealed Monday.
The seasonally adjusted manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) came in at 50.5 in February. The index has now stayed above the no-change 50 mark, which separates growth from contraction, for the sixth month in a row. The February reading was, however, slightly lower than January's score of 51.
Production at Indonesian factories rebounded in February, following a contraction in January, but the rate of growth was fractional. The output recovery was driven by a further increase in new business, which has now recorded growth for the fifth month in a row.
Input costs faced by goods producers rose further in February amid food, metals, chemicals, plastics, paper and textiles prices. Subsequently, average output prices were raised further.


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Australia Current Account Deficit A$10.1 Billion


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Australia saw a seasonally adjusted current account deficit of A$10.139 billion in the fourth quarter of 2013, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday.
That missed forecasts for a shortfall of A$10.0 billion following the upwardly revised A$12.5 billion deficit in the third quarter (originally a deficit of A$12.7 billion).
The primary income deficit climbed A$536 million or 6 percent to A$9.898 billion.


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Taiwan's Consumer Prices Drop Slightly In February


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Taiwan's consumer prices decreased modestly in February from last year, data released by the National Statistics revealed Wednesday.
The consumer price index edged down 0.05 percent in February from the corresponding month of last year.
The decline mainly reflected a 2.07 percent fall in transportation and communication costs, and a 0.64 percent decrease in clothing expenses. These were partially offset by a 2.54 percent gain in food prices, and a 0.7 percent growth in housing costs.
Month-on-month, the consumer price index recorded a 0.4 percent decrease during February, the agency said.
Separately, the agency said Taiwan's wholesale prices decreased 0.48 percent year-on-year in February. Sequentially, wholesale prices rose by 0.4 percent.


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Australia Retail Sales Jump 1.2% In January


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Retail sales in Australia climbed a seasonally adjusted 1.2 percent on month in January, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday - worth A$22.924 billion.
That blew away forecasts for an increase of 0.4 percent following the upwardly revised 0.7 percent gain in December (originally 0.5 percent).
Among the individual components, food retailing was up 0.8 percent, along with cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services (1.4 percent), household goods retailing (0.4 percent), other retailing (0.4 percent), department stores (0.7 percent) and clothing, footwear and personal accessory retailing (0.3 percent).


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Malaysia January Exports Rise More Than Expected


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Malaysia's merchandise exports increased at a faster-than-expected pace in January, latest data revealed Friday. Goods exports increased 12.2 percent on an annual basis to MYR63.97 billion in January, the Department of Statistics said. The growth rate was bigger than the 7.9 percent economists had forecast. Major export products in January were electrical and electronic products; refined petroleum products; liquefied natural gas; chemicals and chemical products; and palm oil. At the same time, imports grew 7.2 percent year-on-year to MYR57.62 billion. Economists were looking for a 2.6 percent decrease. The three main categories of imports by end use were intermediate goods, capital goods and consumption goods. January's overall foreign trade resulted in a surplus of MYR6.36 billion, which was notably lower than than the MYR9.05 billion surplus economists had forecast, data showed.


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Japan January Current Account Deficit Y1,589.0 Billion


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Japan saw a current account deficit of 1,589.0 billion yen in January, the Ministry of Finance said on Monday.
That missed forecasts for a shortfall of 1,411.8 billion yen following the 638.6 billion yen deficit in December.
The trade balance reflected a deficit of 2,345.4 billion yen - which actually beat expectations for 2,589.6 billion yen. That follows the upwardly revised deficit of 1,047.4 billion yen in December (originally 1,212.6 billion yen.
Exports climbed 16.7 percent on year, while imports surged an annual 30.3 percent.


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Philippine Export Growth Eases For Second Month


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Philippines merchandise exports logged strong growth in in January, but the rate of increase weakened for the second successive month and missed expectations, latest data revealed Tuesday.
Goods exports advanced 9.3 percent on an annual basis to $4.382 billion in January, after gaining 15.8 percent and 18.9 percent respectively in December and November, the National Statistics Office said. Economists had forecast a 10.6 percent growth for January.
Sales were led by a 22.1 percent rise in shipments of electronic products, which followed a 26.2 percent gain in December.
January exports were also influenced by improvement in sales of other manufactured products; metal components; articles of apparel and clothing accessories; machinery and transport equipment; and wood-crafts and furniture, data showed.
Month-on-month, overall exports decreased 4.7 percent in January, with dispatches of electronic products falling 6 percent.


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South Korea Unemployment Rate Rises To Three-Year High


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South Korea's unemployment rate grew sharply in February to the highest level in nearly three years, data published by Statistics Korea revealed Wednesday.
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate advanced to 3.9 percent in February from 3.2 percent in January. In February 2013, the jobless rate was 3.4 percent. The February figure was the highest since March 2011. On an unadjusted basis, there were around 1.18 million jobless persons in the country at the end of February, which was higher by 19.1 percent than in the same month of last year.
Data showed that the number of employed persons increased 3.5 percent year-on-year to about 24.82 million during February. At the same time, the labor force participation rate advanced 1.8 percent annually to 61.4 percent.



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Dollar Declines To 2-day Low Against Pound


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The U.S. dollar edged down against the pound in Asian deals on Thursday.
The greenback slipped to a 2-day low of 1.6641 against the pound at 12:20 am ET from an early high of 1.6606. The next possible support for the greenback is seen around the 1.68 zone.


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Yen Rises Against Majors


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The Japanese yen gained against other major currencies in the Asian session on Friday. The yen ticked up to 116.04 against the franc, 140.79 against the euro, 168.81 against the pound and 101.60 against the greenback. The yen may face resistance around 115.00 against the franc, 139.00 against the euro, 167.00 against the pound and 101.00 against the greenback. The yen rose back to 91.64 against the aussie, while against the kiwi, the yen rebounded from an early low of 87.11 and gained to 86.70. The yen hit 91.58 against the loonie, highest level since March 4. If the yen extends gain, it may find resistance around 90.00 against the aussie, 86.00 against the kiwi and 90.00 against the loonie.


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Vietnam Central Bank To Lower Key Rates


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Vietnam's central bank will lower its key rates to help the government to meet its 5.8 percent growth target this year.
The State Bank of Vietnam will cut its refinancing rate to 6.5 percent from 7 percent, reports said Monday. Also, the interest-rate cap for dong deposits will be lowered to 6 percent from 7 percent, effective March 18.
The International Monetary Fund forecast only 5.4 percent growth for Vietnam this year, but slightly faster than the 5.3 percent rise estimated last year.


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Philippine January Wholesale Price Inflation Weakens


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Philippines' wholesale price inflation weakened in January after picking up in each of the preceding four months, data published by the National Statistics Office revealed Tuesday.
The wholesale price index advanced 4.8 percent on an annual basis in January, which was slower than the 5.3 percent gain recorded in December. In November, prices grew by 4.1 percent.
The movement of the index was influenced slower growth rates of 32.4 percent for crude materials, inedible except fuels; and 6.2 percent for chemicals including animal and vegetable oils and fats.
However, higher annual increments were observed in mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials, at 6.5 percent; manufactured goods classified chiefly by materials index, at 1.6 percent; and machinery and transport equipment, at 1.8 percent, data showed.
On a monthly basis, wholesale prices moved up 0.3 percent in the beginning of the year, after growing 1 percent in December, data showed.


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Japan Has Y800.3 Billion Trade Deficit


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Japan saw a merchandise trade deficit of 800.309 billion yen in February, the Ministry of Finance said on Wednesday. That missed forecasts for a shortfall of 600.9 billion yen following the downwardly revised deficit of 2,791.7 billion yen in January (originally 2,789.97 billion yen). Exports were up 9.8 percent on year - also shy of expectations for 12.5 percent following the 9.5 percent increase in the previous month. Imports added an annual 9.0 percent versus forecasts for 7.2 percent following the 25.1 percent spike a month earlier.


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U.K. Household Finance Sentiment Drops Slightly From Record High: Markit


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Confidence among British households regarding their personal finances eased modestly in March, but hovered near February's record high signaling that the squeeze on finances remained less marked than seen over the past five years, survey data published by Markit Economics revealed Thursday.
The seasonally adjusted household finance index, which measures the overall perception of financial well-being, dropped to 41.9 in March from 42.1 in February, which was the highest score in the history of the survey. Index readings below 50 suggest weakness in confidence.
Confidence was supported by a fourth consecutive growth in income from employment. Also, households' perception of the current inflation situation dropped during March to the lowest level since December 2009.
At the same time, spending increased for the first time so far this year, helped by stronger economic conditions as highlighted by a robust rise in workplace activity.
The outlook component of the survey, which measures financial well-being over the next 12 months, dropped to 49 in March from a survey-record high of 50.5 in February. However, the latest reading was the second-highest since the series began in February 2009.
"Overall, the survey suggests that the UK economy has remained on a solid recovery path during the first quarter of 2014,"Markit Economist Tim Moore said.


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Euro Rises Further To 4-day High Against Franc


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The euro continued its uptrend against the Swiss franc in Asia on Monday. The euro that closed Friday's deals at 1.2167 against the franc reached a 4-day high of 1.2189. On the upside, 1.225 is seen as the next upside target level for the euro.


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Daily analysis of GBP/JPY for March 24, 2014


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Overview
In the today's H4 chart, we can notice that the pair opened this week below the Resistance level of 169.20 that would give the pair a good opportunity to start its bearish move. Actually, as shown, the pair took a slightly downward move and currently is trading above the support level of 168.50 and below the resistance level of 169.20 directly. More bearish signals are still expected as long as the pair is trading below the resistance level, so we can consider our first target few pips above the support level of 167.75, then it is preferred to wait for breaking this support level and closing 4H below to continue the bearish move.
Resistance and support levels: R3 (170.50), R2 (169.75), R1 (169.20), S1 (168.50), S2 (167.75), S3 (167.00).


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Philippine Imports Rise Fore Third Month


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Philippines' merchandise imports increased for the third successive month in January, and at a significantly faster pace than in December, data published by the National Statistics Office showed Tuesday. The growth rate also far exceeded economists' expectations.
The value of imports climbed 21.8 percent on an annual basis to US$5.76 billion in January, which followed a 2.1 percent gain in December. Economists were looking for an 8.5 percent rise for January.
While nine of the top ten major commodities recorded growth during the month, the strong pick up was driven by an 11.1 percent rise in imports of electronic products. In December, the category had logged a 2.5 percent decline.
On a monthly basis, overall external purchases recorded a 6.4 percent growth in the beginning of the year, following December's 3.4 percent increase. Arrivals of electronics goods rose by 1.7 percent.
January's international trade resulted in a deficit of US$1.38 billion, which was notably higher than the US$716 million deficit recorded in the same month of last year. Expectations were for a lower shortfall of US$850 million.


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Japan Corporate Service Prices Rise 0.7%


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An index monitoring corporate service prices in Japan was up 0.7 percent on year in February, the Bank of Japan said on Wednesday, standing at 96.5.
That was unchanged from the January reading following a downward revision from 0.8 percent.
On a monthly basis, corporate service prices were up 0.3 percent following the 0.6 percent contraction in the previous month.
Among the individual components of the survey, prices were higher for civil engineering and software development - while they were lower for transportation, leasing and rental.

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NZ Dollar Climbs To Multi-month High Against Euro


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The New Zealand dollar strengthened against the euro and the US dollar in the Asian session on Thursday.
The NZ dollar rose to a multi-month high of 1.5973 against the euro and an 8-day high of 0.8631 against the US dollar, compared to yesterday's closing quotes of 1.6042 and 0.8591, respectively.
If the kiwi continues its uptrend, it may find target levels around 1.5920 against the euro and 0.8640 against the greenback.


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UK Consumer Confidence Index Rises To -5


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An index measuring consumer confidence in the United Kingdom came in at -5 in March, the latest survey from GfK revealed on Friday.
That beat expectations for -6 and is up from -7 in February. It also marks the highest score since August 2007.
The index is also 22 points higher than it was a year earlier.
"People are now on balance more positive than negative about their own financial prospects over the next year," said Nick Moon, managing director for GfK's social research division. "It is unlikely that anything announced in the recent budget will reverse this."


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Japan Auto Production Continues To Expand


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Japan's automobile production increased for the sixth consecutive month in February, data from the Japan Automobile Manufacturers' Association showed Monday.
Driven by huge domestic demand, auto production rose 7.1 percent or 57,186 units from a year ago to 863,397 units in February. Domestic sales surged 18.4 percent on a yearly basis, while exports declined 6 percent. At the same time, motorcycle production gained 9.6 percent annually to 56,348 units. This was the sixth consecutive rise in output. Domestic sales of motorcycle advanced 26.3 percent and exports climbed 21.1 percent.


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Australia Leaves Key Rate Unchanged At 2.5%


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The Reserve Bank of Australia left its key interest rate unchanged on Tuesday as widely expected by economists. Policymakers led by Governor Glenn Stevens decided to maintain the cash rate at 2.50 percent. Members assessed the most prudent course is likely to be a period of stability in interest rates, the central bank said in a statement. The bank expects inflation to be consistent with the 2-3 percent target over the next two years. In the Board's judgement, monetary policy is appropriately configured to foster sustainable growth in demand and inflation outcomes consistent with the target. Looking ahead, the bank said continued accommodative monetary policy should provide support to demand, and help growth to strengthen over time.


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BoJ Tankan: Inflation Forecast 1.1% For Next Year


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The expectation for inflation over the next year in Japan is 1.1 percent, the Bank of Japan said on Wednesday in the second half of its quarterly Tankan survey of consumer sentiment.
According to the all enterprise component, the inflation rate is expected to rise to 1.8 percent over the next three years, and then to 2.1 percent in five years.
However, among large manufacturers, inflation is expected to add just 0.2 percent over the next year, be flat in three years and then fall 0.3 percent in five years.
Among large non-manufacturers, inflation is called at 0.9 percent in the next year, 1.3 percent in three years and 1.5 percent in five years.
The first portion of the Tankan was released on Tuesday.


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Contraction Slows For Australia Construction Sector


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An index monitoring activity in Australia's construction sector saw a seasonally adjusted score of 46.2 in March, the Australian Industry Group and Housing Industry Association said on Monday in their Performance of Construction Index - up from 44.2 in February. Construction activity contracted for the third straight month, the survey showed, as a score below 50 signals decline and a score above 50 means expansion.
"As is the case with the broader economy, the rebalancing of the construction sector as mining-related activity slows still has a considerable way to go," said AiG Director of Public Policy Peter Burn in a release accompanying the data.
Among the individual components of the survey, the new orders sub-index saw its contraction slow dramatically, jumping from 39.5 in February to 48.3 in March.
The employment sub-index continued to weaken, falling from 46.0 in February to 42.7. The sub-index for construction climbed from 45.3 in February to 48.3 in March. House building dipped from 52.2 in the previous month to 50.8, while apartment building fell from 46.6 to 45.6.
Commercial construction tumbled from 59.9 to 56.5 points, and engineering construction surged from 39.7 to 45.5.
"What the sector and broader economy needs, however, is a sustained recovery in new home building commensurate with average construction levels being considerably higher over coming decades than those achieved over the past 20 years," said HIA chief economist Harley Dale.


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Yen Ticks Down After Bank Of Japan Monetary Policy Decision


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As expected, the Bank of Japan maintained its monetary easing program unchanged in the Asian session on Tuesday. Following the announcement, the yen inched down against other major currencies. The yen was trading at 102.93 against the greenback, 141.46 against the euro, 115.94 against the franc and 171.01 against the pound around 11:01 pm ET.


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NZ Dollar Strengthens Against Most Majors


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The New Zealand dollar drifted higher against most major rivals in early Asian deals on Wednesday.
The kiwi spiked up to 1.5835 against the euro, a level not seen since March 28. Against the greenback, the kiwi approached 0.8707 for the first time since August 2011.
The kiwi rose to 88.72 against the yen from Tuesday's closing quote of 88.25.
If the kiwi extends gain, it may face resistance around 0.875 against the greenback, 1.56 against the euro and 89.8 against the yen.


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China Has $7.71 Billion Trade Surplus In March


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China posted a merchandise trade surplus of $7.71 billion in March, the customs office said on Thursday.
That topped forecasts for a surplus of $0.9 billion following the $23.0 billion shortfall - largely due to the Lunar New Year holiday - in the previous month.
Exports were down 6.6 percent on year, missing expectations for an increase of 4.0 percent following the 18.1 percent contraction in February. Imports tumbled an annual 11.3 percent versus forecasts for a gain of 2.4 percent following the 10.1 percent increase a month earlier.

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Euro Rises To 8- Day High Against Pound


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The European currency strengthened against the pound in the early Asian session on Friday. The euro advanced to an 8-day high of 0.8287 against the British currency, up almost 0.2 percent from yesterday's closing quote of 0.8273. If the euro continues its uptrend, it may find the resistance around the 0.83 area.

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Gold at 3-Week High on Ukraine Tensions


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Spot gold rose to a three-week high of $1,328.30 an ounce before settling to trade up 0.6 percent at $1,325.50 by 0030 GMT
The United States is prepared to step up sanctions against Moscow if pro-Russian military actions in eastern Ukraine continue, a senior U.S. envoy said. The next round of U.S. sanctions are expected to target Russian business sectors such as mining, banking and ene
SPDR Gold Trust GLD, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings fell 1.80 tonnes to 804.42 tonnes on Friday.


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Aussie Slightly Up Following RBA Minutes


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Following the release of the Reserve Bank of Australia's minutes of monetary policy meeting held on April 1 in early Asian deals on Tuesday at 9:30 pm ET, the aussie rose slightly against other major currencies. The aussie was trading at 0.9409 against the greenback, 95.90 against the yen, 1.4683 against the euro and 1.0849 against the kiwi around 9:33 pm ET.


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Yen Weakens Against Most Majors


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The Japanese yen declined against most major currencies in Asian deals on Wednesday. The yen slipped to 102.19 against the greenback, a level not seen since April 8. The yen hit 5-day lows of 141.15 against the euro, 116.05 against the franc and 93.04 against the loonie, compared to Tuesday's closing values of 140.79, 115.80 and 92.83, respectively. The next possible downside target for the yen lies around 103.00 against the greenback, 142.00 against the euro, 117.00 against the franc and 94.00 against the loonie.

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Technical analysis of GBP/USD for April 16, 2014


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British inflation fell to its lowest in over four years in March, easing pressure on living standards and raising the prospect that prices may now be rising less than wages for the first time in years. Tuesday's data showed that consumer price inflation dropped to 1.6 percent in March from February's 1.7 percent - the lowest level since October 2009, according to the Office for National Statistics.
Wage numbers are due today, they are forecast to show average earnings growth picking up to 1.8 percent from 1.4 percent - which if true, would be the first time that wages have outpaced inflation since April 2010. British wages typically rose by around 4-5 percent a year before the financial crisis, but since mid-2008 have mostly risen by less than inflation.
The pair has been in a down trend from 1.6820 levels. The pair is taking support at 1.67 levels and facing resistance at 1.6750. Currently, it is trading between 1.67-1.6750 levels. Break out either side will give a room to further levels. If the pair breaks the upper band at 1.6750, it will fly up to 1.6787 and 1.6820. On the down side the pair has support at 1.67, 1.666 and 1.6640. The level at 1.6640 is very crucial for bulls, if it breaks, it will breaks 1.6570 and 1.6550.



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Australia New Motor Vehicle Sales Dip 0.3%


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The total number of new motor vehicle sales in Australia was down a seasonally adjusted 0.3 percent on month in March, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday, coming in at 92,168.
That follows the 0.1 percent increase in February.
By category, sales of passenger and other vehicles decreased 3.2 percent and 0.9 percent, respectively, while sales of sports utility vehicles climbed 4.9 percent.
By region, the Northern Territory recorded the largest percentage decrease (3.0 percent) followed by Tasmania (2.7 percent) and the Australian Capital Territory (2.1 percent).
On a yearly basis, new car sales were down 2.8 percent after falling 3.5 percent in the previous month.



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NZ Dollar Drops Against Majors


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Reversing direction, the New Zealand dollar slipped against other major currencies in Asian deals on Monday.
The kiwi fell to 0.8557 against the greenback, its lowest since April 4. This may be compared to an early 4-day high of 0.8600.
Pulling away from an early 4-day high of 1.6056 against the euro, the kiwi slipped to near a 3-week low of 1.6133.
The kiwi has come off from an early high of 1.0849 against the aussie, declining to a 4-day low of 1.0891.
The kiwi fell back slightly against the yen and was trading around 87.87, compared to an early 4-day high of 88.13.
If the kiwi extends decline, it is likely to seek downside target around 0.85 against the greenback, 1.62 against the euro, 1.095 against the aussie and 87.00 against the yen.



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Australia Leading Index Rises 0.3% In February - Conference Board


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A leading economic index for Australia was up 0.3 percent on month in February, the Conference Board said on Tuesday - rising for the 17th consecutive month.
That follows the 0.2 percent gain in January.
The coincident index climbed 0.4 percent in February following the 0.2 percent increase in the previous month.



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China Leading Economic Index +1.2% In March


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China's leading economic index was up 1.2 percent on month in March, the Conference Board said on Thursday. That's up from the 0.9 percent increase in February and the 0.3 percent gain in January. The coincident index added 1.1 percent in March - up from the flat reading in February and the 1.3 percent decline in January.


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Japan Retail Sales Spike 11.0% On Year In March

Retail sales in Japan surged 11.0 percent on year in March, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said on Monday, worth 13.731 trillion yen.
That was in line with forecasts following the 3.6 percent gain in February.
Sales from large retailers surged an annual 16.1 percent - topping expectations for 13.8 percent following the 1.3 percent increase in the previous month.
On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, retail sales climbed 6.3 percent - beating forecasts for 6.0 percent and up sharply from 0.3 percent a month prior.

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South Korea Current Account Surplus $7.35 Billion


South Korea saw an unadjusted current account surplus of $7.35 billion in March, the Bank of Korea said on Tuesday.That's up from the $4.52 billion surplus on February and the $3.61 billion surplus in January.
The financial account recorded a net outflow of 5.78 billion dollars, down from 6.92 billion dollars the previous month.
Seasonally adjusted, the current account surplus was $6.65 billion - down from $7.57 billion in February.

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Yen Advances Against Majors

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The Japanese yen climbed against other major currencies in early Asian deals on Wednesday.
The yen rose to 172.39 against the pound, 115.96 against the franc, 102.49 against the greenback and 93.59 against the loonie.
The yen climbed to a 2-day high of 141.52 versus the euro, compared to yesterday's closing quote of 141.59.
If the yen extends gain, it is likely to face resistance around 101.00 against the greenback, 115.00 against the franc, 140.00 against the euro, 171.5 against the pound and 92.00 against the loonie.



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China Manufacturing PMI 48.1 In April - HSBC

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China's manufacturing sector continued to contract in April, the latest survey from HSBC and Markit Economics revealed on Monday - with a final purchasing managers' index score of 48.1.
That was down from last month's flash estimate of 48.3, although it was up from the final March reading of 48.0.
A reading above 50 signals expansion in a sector, while a score below means contraction.
In all, the index shows that China's manufacturing sector has been in contraction for four straight months.
Among the individual components of the survey, output and new orders contract at slower rates, while staff numbers were cut for the sixth month in a row. There was also a solid reduction in both input and output prices.


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