Forex News from InstaForex

[IFX Gertrude]

Oil Steady, Buoyed by Firm Demand and Drop in Inventories



Oil prices were steady on Monday, buoyed by firm demand and a fall in inventories. However, it remains under pressure due to high output.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 stood at $48.85 per barrel, higher by three cents.

According to Anz bank, prices are supported by a report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) which stated that crude oil stockpiles were now below 2016 levels. Stocks continue to be at 219 million barrels above a 5-year average, which is a level that OPEC is aiming for with its output cuts, the IEA said.

The agency increased its 2017 demand growth forecast to 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd) from 1.4 million bpd in its earlier monthly report and said it sees demand to grow further by 1.4 million bpd in 2017.

Shale production in the biggest U.S. oilfield should increase by as much as 300,000 bpd by December, according to industry forecasts.

Drillers added three rigs looking for new oil in the week to Aug. 11 which brings the overall count up to 768, the most since April 2015, according to General Electric Co's Baker Hughes energy services company.

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[IFX Gertrude]

VALE: Company To Increase Corporate Governance Level Sooner Than Expected



The chief executive officer of the Brazilian miner Vale, Fabio Schvartsman, said that the company could enter the Novo Mercado stock market segment - which means that the firm will follow the highest standards of corporate governance available in Brazil - sooner than expected.

"We do not have the date yet, but we will do everything at reach to make it fast. It is possible that it will happen later this year," the executive said in a teleconference with reporters.

His statement came after Vale's stockholders agreed to convert 84.4% of the company's preferred shares into common shares. According to Schvartsman, nobody expected such high level of commitment to the share conversion process.

Now, Vale is reviewing what to do with the remaining preferred shares. One possibility would be to hold a new shareholder meeting to convert those stocks. Schvartsman also reiterated that it would not be necessary to use company money to buy the shares, since shareholders who did not join the conversion did not do so due to regulatory issues, such as index funds abroad.

Vale needed a conversion rate of at least 54.09% to proceed with its corporate restructuring and for changes in corporate governance, such as those required to enter the Novo Mercado segment.

After the conversion, Valepar - Vale's controlling shareholder - will merge with and into the mining company. Valepar is formed by Bradesco, Mitsui, BNDESPar and state pension funds, such as Previ. In this way, shareholders linked to the government will have smaller shares.

Asked about government participation in the company, Schvartsman said that this issue is "100% solved" and that government interference in the company "is a page turned." "Not that there was interference, but the government is very welcome as a minority shareholder," he said.

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[IFX Gertrude]

Wall Street Higher as North Korea Tensions Dwindle Down



U.S. stocks closed higher on Monday from the previous week's selloff, as traders saw geopolitical tensions subsiding.

The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 0.62 percent to 21,993.71, as Goldman Sachs, Apple and Boeing contributed the most advances.

The S&P 500 advanced one percent to 2,465.84, as the information technology ended at a record peak. The S&P also recorded its best day since April 24, when it climbed 1.08 percent. The Nasdaq composite gained 1.34 percent to 6,340.23, with shares of Amazon, Facebook and Tesla all increasing.

The CBOE Volatility index, Wall Street's fear gauge, dropped over three points after it jumped to a nine-month peak last week.

Technology shares were among stocks that gave the index its largest boost. Apple rose 1.5 percent and the S&P 500 technology index climbed 1.6 percent.

Tesla advanced 1.7 percent after two brokerages increased their price targets on the stock, citing possible success of the firm's Model 3 sedan.

Snap Inc rose 6.5 percent after notching a record low early in the session, as investors posted their stakes in the social media firm while a wave of employees became eligible to sell their shares.

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[IFX Gertrude]

Australia Leading Index Climbs 0.12% In July



The Australian economy picked up steam in July, the latest survey from Westpac Bank revealed on Wednesday.

The bank's leading index moved up 0.12 percent on month, the bank said.

That follows the downwardly revised 0.15 percent decline in June (originally 0.14 percent).

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[IFX Gertrude]

Wall Street Flat as Retail Stocks Sharply Drop



U.S. equities closed little changed on Tuesday as losses in Home Depot and other retailers followed results which counterbalanced strong U.S. retail sales data.

The Dow Jones industrial average edged up 0.02 percent to end at 21,998.99, with Home Depot contributing the most losses. The S&P 500 slipped 0.05 percent to 2,464.61, as telecommunications lagged behind. The Nasdaq composite was down 0.11 percent to 6,333.01.

The SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) dropped 2.7 percent.

Advance Auto Parts marked their worst day ever after reporting lower-than-expected earnings. Dick's Sporting Goods tumbled 23 percent after its results fell short of expectations. The company also lowered its 2017 outlook.

Home Depot reported better-than-expected earnings and sales for the second quarter. However, its stocks dropped 2.7 percent. Investors seem to be worried about supply constraints in the housing market which could add more pressure on the company's future earnings. Bank stocks climbed following higher-than-expected economic data which raised Treasury yields.

General Electric fell 0.9 percent and dropped to an intraday low of $25.10, its weakest point since October 2015. A quarterly report from Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc revealed that it reduced its investment in the industrial company.

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[IFX Gertrude]

Japan Has Y418.8 Billion Trade Surplus



Japan had a merchandise trade surplus of 418.8 billion yen in July, the Ministry of Finance said on Thursday.

That topped forecasts for a surplus of 327.1 billion yen but was down from 439.8 billion yen in June.

Exports climbed 13.4 percent on year, beating forecasts for 13.2 percent and up from 9.7 percent in the previous month.

Imports picked up an annual 16.3 percent versus expectations for 17.1 percent and up from 15.5 a month earlier.

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[IFX Gertrude]

UK Employment Notched Record Peak but Pay Remains Under Pressure



British employment reached a record peak, but workers' wages are still being squeezed as productivity drops.

Official statistics that were recently published signified the resilience of the UK jobs markets and its constant underlying problem. The workforce has been less productive than it was a decade ago, while employers are reluctant to increase salaries.

In the three months to the end of June, another 125,000 people have found jobs. This means that 75.1 percent of all people between the ages of 16 and 64 were in work, the highest employment rate since records started in 1971.

The jobless rate dropped from 4.5 to 4.4 percent in the quarter, the lowest marked rate since 1975.

The majority of new jobs were full-time, while the count of people on insecure zero-hours contracts fell by 20,000 to 883,000.

The productivity of Britain's workers dropped 0.1 percent in the second quarter after a 0.5 percent decline in the first.

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[IFX Gertrude]

European Markets as Banks, Energy Stocks Drop



European shares broke their three-day winning streak on Thursday as banks declined after a cautious minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve, while energy stocks were also under pressure.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index dropped 0.6 percent as eurozone blue chips fell 0.7 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 slipped 0.6 percent while Germany's DAX was down 0.5 percent.

European lenders, which benefit from higher interest rates, were the worst-performing sector as it fell 1.6 percent. Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank dropped which led the DAX lower with declines of 2.8 to three percent.

Societe Generale, Credit Agricole and BNP Paribas weighed on th France's CAC, tumbling 1.6 to 2.3 percent.

Energy stocks are the worst-performing European sectors so far in 2017, declining one percent.

Geberit led construction firms to the third-worst performance among Stoxx 600 groups, dropping 5.8 percent after its quarterly earnings fell short even of their lowest analyst estimate.

Hikma Pharmaceuticals plunged ten percent after the company trimmed its guidance for the generics business.

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[IFX Gertrude]

Malaysia GDP Growth Improves Unexpectedly In Q2



Malaysia's economic growth accelerated unexpectedly in the three months ended June, figures from the Department of Statistics showed Friday.

Gross domestic product advanced 5.8 percent year-over-year in the second quarter, faster than the 5.6 percent rise in the Mach quarter. Meanwhile, economists had expected the growth to ease to 5.4 percent.

During the fourth quarter of the previous year, the rate of expansion was 4.5 percent.

Malaysia's economy remained its uptrend momentum since second quarter of 2016.

On the expenditure side, private final consumption expenditure grew 7.1 percent annually in the second quarter and gross fixed capital formation rose by 4.1 percent.

Both exports and exports climbed by 9.6 percent and 10.7 percent, respectively.

Quarter-on-quarter, the seasonally adjusted GDP increased at a slower pace of 1.3 percent in the June quarter, following a 1.8 percent growth in the preceding three-month period.

Separately, the statistical office revealed that the current account surplus of the country rose to MYR 9.6 billion in the second quarter from MYR 5.3 billion in the first quarter.

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[IFX Gertrude]

Canada Wholesale Trade Down 0.5% in June



The value of Canadian wholesale trade dropped 0.5 percent in June following eight straight months of growth, weighed down by lower sales of food and motor vehicles, according to Statistics Canada.

Five of the seven sub sectors, representing 73 percent of wholesale trade, reported declines as sales dropped in six provinces. In volume terms, sales fell 0.7 percent.

The food, beverage and tobacco subsector dropped 1.0 percent. Motor vehicles and parts dealers were also down 1.0 percent.

Sales in the western energy-producing province of Alberta tumbled 3.7 percent, its first decline in nine months.

Inventories reported their 10th increase in 11 months, climbing 0.6 percent to hit a record peak on the back of a 3.2 percent growth in the personal and household goods subsector.

The Canadian dollar remains strong against the U.S. dollar despite the sharp drop in oil prices. Last week, the loonie hit a two-week peak against the greenback pulled down by political uncertainty, after Canadian data revealed a rise in the rate of underlying inflation while oil prices increased.

In Canada, investors will also pay attention to the release of the retail sales data due on Tuesday.

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