Forex News from InstaForex

[IFX Gertrude]

Vietnam Central Bank To Lower Key Rates





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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[IFX Gertrude]

Philippine January Wholesale Price Inflation Weakens





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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[IFX Gertrude]

Japan Has Y800.3 Billion Trade Deficit





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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[IFX Gertrude]

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





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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[IFX Gertrude]

New Zealand Credit Card Spending +5.9% On Year





Total credit card spending in New Zealand was up 5.9 percent on year in February, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand said on Friday, coming in at NZ$2.879 billion.
That's down from the upwardly revised 9.4 percent increase in January (originally 9.2 percent) to NZ$2.960 billion.
On a monthly basis, credit card spending was up 0.2 percent - slowing from the upwardly revised 1.2 percent increase in January (originally 1.0 percent).


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[IFX Gertrude]

Euro Rises Further To 4-day High Against Franc





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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[IFX Gertrude]

Daily analysis of GBP/JPY for March 24, 2014





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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[IFX Gertrude]

Philippine Imports Rise Fore Third Month





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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[IFX Gertrude]

Japan Corporate Service Prices Rise 0.7%





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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[IFX Gertrude]

NZ Dollar Climbs To Multi-month High Against Euro





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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