Forex News from InstaForex

[IFX Gertrude]

Malaysia Manufacturing PMI Continues To Contract



The manufacturing sector in Malaysia remained in contraction in September, albeit at a slower pace, the latest survey from Nikkei showed on Friday with a manufacturing PMI score of 48.6.

That's up from 47.4 in August, although it remains beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

Individually, production fell to its weakest rate in 11 months, while
new orders were at their slowest pace since May 2015.

Input price inflation fell to match the lowest figure on record for the survey.

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[IFX Gertrude]

Dollar Gains Against Yen After OPEC Deal



The U.S. dollar has reached an eight-day high against the Japanese yen due to the reduced appetite of investors for the safe-haven currency, following the OPEC deal where they agreed to cut the production of oil. OPEC has agreed to modest reduction of oil output as the group's leader, Saudi Arabia, softened its position on Iran.

The greenback last increased against the yen by 0.44 percent at 101.09 yen after it reached an eight-day high of 101.84 yen. The euro was last up at $1.1245 against the U.S. dollar, which reversed earlier losses as analysts claim that the reduced concerns regarding the European banking sector has boosted the currency. The dollar index, last decreased by 0.09 percent at 95.344. According to analysts, the gains followed higher chances that the Federal Reserve will increase rates in December.

Traders see a 57.4 percent likelihood that the Fed will raise rates in December, according to CME Group's FedWatch program.

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[IFX Gertrude]

South Korea Posts $5.51 Billion Current Account Surplus



South Korea landed a current account surplus of $5.51 billion in August, the Bank of Korea said on Tuesday - following the $8.67 billion surplus in July. The goods account surplus narrowed to $7.30 billion, compared to $10.78 billion in July. The services account deficit shrank to $1.45 billion, from $1.53 billion the month before. The primary income account surplus widened from $0.05 billion in July to $0.61 billion in August, in line with an improvement in the income on equity account. The secondary income account saw a $0.94 billion deficit. The financial account showed a $7.70 billion increase in net assets in August. There was a $2.16 billion expansion in assets in the direct investment, after their $2.20 billion growth in July. Direct investment liabilities increased by $1.66 billion compared to the $1.25 billion increase in the month previous. Portfolio investment assets grew by $8.37 billion in August, up from their $4.62 billion expansion in July. Portfolio investment liabilities meanwhile showed an increase of $1.62 billion, down from $4.53 billion the month before. Financial derivatives posted a net decrease of $1.18 billion. In the other investment there were increases of $1.84 billion in assets and $3.31 billion in liabilities. Reserve assets expanded by $3.09 billion.

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[IFX Gertrude]

Dollar Firms Buoyed by Manufacturing Data



The U.S. dollar rose after it received a boost from an upbeat U.S. economic data which showed that the manufacturing sector rebounded in September. The WSJ Dollar Index increased by 0.3 percent to 86.61.

The Institute for Supply Management report has shown that factory activity in the U.S. rebounded in September after it shrank in August. The ISM manufacturing index was at 51.5 percent for the month. Fed-fund futures have shown a 62 percent likelihood that the Fed would increase interest rates by the December meeting, according to CME Group data.

The British pound declined by 1.1 percent to $1.2826 as U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May has finally set a March date to go ahead with leaving the European Union and claims that controlling immigration is a higher priority than full access to its biggest trading partner.

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[IFX Gertrude]

Euro Rises Against Majors



The euro strengthened against the other major currencies in the Asian session on Wednesday.

The euro rose to more than a 3-1/2-year high of 0.8814 against the pound and a 3-week high of 115.49 against the yen, from yesterday's closing quotes of 0.8799 and 115.22, respectively.

Against the U.S. dollar and the Swiss franc, the euro edged up to 1.1228 and 1.0974 from yesterday's closing quotes of 1.1201 and 1.0964, respectively.

If the euro extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around 0.89 against the pound, 118.00 against the yen, 1.13 against the greenback and 1.10 against the franc.

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[IFX Gertrude]

Oil Prices Jump on U.S. Crude Supply Data



Oil prices rose following a report that U.S. crude stocks may have dropped for the fifth week in a row, however, contracts continued to be close to the $50-per-barrel mark where most traders presently perceive a fair price for crude.

U.S. WTI oil futures traded up 49 cents or 1% from their previous finish at $49.18 a barrel while the benchmark Brent crude futures were up 42 cents or 0.8% at $51.29 a barrel.

Traders state that the surge in prices was mostly due to a report by the American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday, revealing that U.S. crude supplies most likely dropped for the fifth consecutive week, falling by 7.6 million barrels. The U.S. EIA is scheduled to release official inventory figures on Wednesday. Analysts are expecting a supply accumulation of 2.6 million barrels during the previous week.

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[IFX Gertrude]

Australia Has A$2.010 Billion Trade Deficit In August



Australia had a merchandise trade deficit of A42.010 billion in August, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday - up 5.0 percent on month.

The headline figure exceeded forecasts for a shortfall of A$2.30 billion following the A$2.41 billion deficit in July.

Exports were roughly flat on month, coming in at A$26.856 billion.

Imports also were essentially unchanged at A$28.866 billion.

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[IFX Gertrude]

Replacement Samsung Note 7 Unit Catches Fire on U.S. Plane



A replacement Samsung Galaxy Note 7 device, which has been declared safe from overheating by Samsung Electronics Co., reportedly started emitting smoke and caught fire on a Southwest Airlines Plane on Wednesday. The airline confirmed that its flight scheduled to travel from Kentucky to Maryland was evacuated before its take-off due to the incident.

Passenger Brian Green, the owner of the phone, said the Note 7 was a replacement unit issued on September 21. He also said the device was powered down and not charging when it started overheating inside his pocket and started emitting a thick smoke after he tossed it on the floor of the aircraft.

The smartphone maker announced a worldwide recall of about 2.5 million units of its Note 7 smartphones last month due to battery problems that caused some handsets to catch fire, but Samsung said it has identified and fixed the issues.

Samsung Electronics said it was working to retrieve the device and determine the cause. Meanwhile, Federal Aviation Administration confirmed in a statement that a Samsung phone had caused the smoke on the U.S. flight and that it was looking into the incident. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is also currently investigating the report.

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[IFX Gertrude]

Australia Construction Sector Swings To Expansion - AiG



The construction sector in Australia turned to expansion in September, the latest survey from the Australian Industry Group revealed on Friday with a PMI score of 51.4.

That's up sharply from 46.6 in August, and it moves above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

Engineering construction and activity remained strong, while house and apartment construction continued to contract.

Individually, employment, input prices, swelling prices, wages and capacity utilization all expanded, while new orders and deliveries contracted.

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[IFX Gertrude]

Verizon seeks $1 billion reduction on Yahoo sale amid privacy scandal



In the advent of hacking and spying reports, Verizon Communications Inc. is asking Yahoo Inc. to reduce the acquisition price by $1 billion, based on a New York Post report, mentioning unknown sources.

A person knowledgeable about the matter divulged Verizon Chief Executive Tim Armstrong is somewhat distressed about Yahoo's insufficient disclosure and contemplating whether to lower the price or withdraw from the deal.

Yahoo, however, is averting any endeavors to negotiate the price lower.

Both firms refused to comment.

Earlier, Yahoo admitted the interception of 500 million accounts in 2014. Then, people privy to the matter said the US government requested the technology company to search emails for any trace of terrorism.

American lawmakers lambasted Yahoo for unacceptable delay in uncovering the hack, pressuring the Securities and Exchange Commission to probe whether Yahoo failed to disclose the incident to investors and the general public.

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