Iran Slapped with EU Trade Sanctions
24-01-2012
Despite predictions that a European embargo on Iran was several days or even weeks away, yesterday’s news that an EU embargo on Iranian oil was approved by Brussels did not catch too many people by surprise. Iran’s currency, the rial, experienced a death stroke on Monday, losing 10% of its value after the news hit the markets. The ban will take effect on July 1, providing weaker EU economies with some time to procure oil from different sources. The United States, buoyed by the European decision, has blacklisted Bank Tejarat, one of the few Iranian banks conducting business with the West. Crude oil is up at the time of this writing by 0.28%, trading at 99.86 USD per barrel.
Japanese Woes Continue
Japanese officials have admitted that they are unlikely to reach their goal of balancing the budget by 2020, this despite the proposal of doubling the sales tax in the country. Japan’s economy has suffered from a downturn over the last several years and it is expected that the country will experience a trade deficit for the first time since 1980. The USD/JPY is down by 0.012%, currently at 77.01. The EUR/JPY is headed in the opposite direction this morning, up by a small margin of 0.003% and trading at 100.24.
BOJ press conference taking place
The Bank Of Japan press conference is scheduled to take place sometime today in Asian trading and should be complete by the time this writing is made available. In the UK, the Public Sector Net Borrowing report will be released while the monthly Core Retail Sales report in Canada is scheduled as well. Tomorrow the Pending Home Sales monthly report will be made available in the United States. The previous report missed analysts’ expectations by 0.3%. Also tomorrow, the Official Cash Rate and the RBNZ Rate Statement will take place in New Zealand.
Don’t Forget Portugal
With the ever increasing concern over the Greek debt crisis, attention has been diverted from the economic troubles that are plaguing Portugal. Many traders and politicians however, have conceded that the Portuguese economy will require significant aid if it to meets it obligations, which include a debt repayment of 9 billion Euros in September of 2013. The recent downgrade of Portuguese debt by S&P didn’t exactly stabilize the situation, though the country’s Prime Minister, Pedro Passos Coelho, was adamant that no further bailouts would be required. The EUR/USD is up this morning by 0.092% and trading at 1.3025.
Japanese Woes Continue
Japanese officials have admitted that they are unlikely to reach their goal of balancing the budget by 2020, this despite the proposal of doubling the sales tax in the country. Japan’s economy has suffered from a downturn over the last several years and it is expected that the country will experience a trade deficit for the first time since 1980. The USD/JPY is down by 0.012%, currently at 77.01. The EUR/JPY is headed in the opposite direction this morning, up by a small margin of 0.003% and trading at 100.24.
BOJ press conference taking place
The Bank Of Japan press conference is scheduled to take place sometime today in Asian trading and should be complete by the time this writing is made available. In the UK, the Public Sector Net Borrowing report will be released while the monthly Core Retail Sales report in Canada is scheduled as well. Tomorrow the Pending Home Sales monthly report will be made available in the United States. The previous report missed analysts’ expectations by 0.3%. Also tomorrow, the Official Cash Rate and the RBNZ Rate Statement will take place in New Zealand.
Don’t Forget Portugal
With the ever increasing concern over the Greek debt crisis, attention has been diverted from the economic troubles that are plaguing Portugal. Many traders and politicians however, have conceded that the Portuguese economy will require significant aid if it to meets it obligations, which include a debt repayment of 9 billion Euros in September of 2013. The recent downgrade of Portuguese debt by S&P didn’t exactly stabilize the situation, though the country’s Prime Minister, Pedro Passos Coelho, was adamant that no further bailouts would be required. The EUR/USD is up this morning by 0.092% and trading at 1.3025.
