Oil and Gold Decline Surprisingly
30-01-2012
Oil continues to decline for the second day after the latest round of talks by European officials. Crude oil is down in Asian trading this morning, valued at 99.02 USD per barrel. The Word Economic Forum, currently taking place in Davos Switzerland, saw Greece and Germany butting heads on the conditions for the next bailout which must be implemented before March, when Greece is required to pay a bond payment of over 14 billion Euros. Germany wants more oversight and veto power on Greek fiscal policy, which is considered unacceptable by Greek politicians. The price of oil is dropping, regardless of the continued threats by Iran regarding the Straits of Hormuz.
Gold drops in early trading
Gold is on the decline in Asian trading, despite the anticipation that the lower interest rates announced by the Fed last week would increase the value of the precious metal. Gold is down at the time of this writing by 0.01%, and valued at 1735.15. Silver is dipping as well, trading at 33.503, a decline of 0.85%. In January thus far, Gold has gone up by 10%, in response to the turmoil in Euro and the uncertainty regarding the future of the markets.
Indices heading south
Almost all indices are on the decline in trading so far today, due in part to the uncertainty surrounding the EU. The biggest drop was experienced in France, where the CAC 40 is down 1.32% and sitting at 3318.76. The Switzerland 20 is down as well, currently at 6033.52 after dropping by 1.10%. Asian stocks are down this morning as investors sell in order to buy dollars. The Hang Seng Index is down by 0.49% while in Japan, the Nikkei is down 0.63%.
Quiet economic calendar
Monday and Tuesday will be relatively quiet as far as reports and announcements are concerned. All of that is set to change on Wednesday, when the ADP Non-Farm Employment Change numbers are scheduled for release in the United States. Also in the U.S., the ISM Manufacturing PMI will become available. Both reports, especially the former, causing plenty of speculation and volatility in currencies specifically and the markets in general. On Thursday, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke will testify before the house budget committee.
GDP fails to meet expectations
Despite a rise from the previous quarter, the GDP in the United States failed to meet expectations. The gross domestic product in America increased by 2.8% last quarter, 0.2% shy of analysts’ forecast of 3.0%. 2.8% is one full percentage point higher than the 1.8% in the third quarter of 2011. The EUR/USD and the GBP/USD are both down this morning by 0.363% and 0.137%, trading at 1.3172 and 1.5707 respectively.
Gold drops in early trading
Gold is on the decline in Asian trading, despite the anticipation that the lower interest rates announced by the Fed last week would increase the value of the precious metal. Gold is down at the time of this writing by 0.01%, and valued at 1735.15. Silver is dipping as well, trading at 33.503, a decline of 0.85%. In January thus far, Gold has gone up by 10%, in response to the turmoil in Euro and the uncertainty regarding the future of the markets.
Indices heading south
Almost all indices are on the decline in trading so far today, due in part to the uncertainty surrounding the EU. The biggest drop was experienced in France, where the CAC 40 is down 1.32% and sitting at 3318.76. The Switzerland 20 is down as well, currently at 6033.52 after dropping by 1.10%. Asian stocks are down this morning as investors sell in order to buy dollars. The Hang Seng Index is down by 0.49% while in Japan, the Nikkei is down 0.63%.
Quiet economic calendar
Monday and Tuesday will be relatively quiet as far as reports and announcements are concerned. All of that is set to change on Wednesday, when the ADP Non-Farm Employment Change numbers are scheduled for release in the United States. Also in the U.S., the ISM Manufacturing PMI will become available. Both reports, especially the former, causing plenty of speculation and volatility in currencies specifically and the markets in general. On Thursday, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke will testify before the house budget committee.
GDP fails to meet expectations
Despite a rise from the previous quarter, the GDP in the United States failed to meet expectations. The gross domestic product in America increased by 2.8% last quarter, 0.2% shy of analysts’ forecast of 3.0%. 2.8% is one full percentage point higher than the 1.8% in the third quarter of 2011. The EUR/USD and the GBP/USD are both down this morning by 0.363% and 0.137%, trading at 1.3172 and 1.5707 respectively.
