Forex / Market reports

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Gold exceeded yesterday's one-month high amid record dollar weakness and as a rally in oil to fresh 11-month peaks increased the metal's appeal as a hedge against inflation.At 3.10 pm, spot gold was quoted at 666.80 usd per ounce, up from 660...

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Oil continued higher into the afternoon as concerns over tight crude and product supply in the face of burgeoning demand fuelled speculative buying as prices approached record highs."With Brent challenging the prior all-time highs, speculators are now piling up futures contracts in anticipation of a new record high price," said Louis-Vincent Gave, head of GaveKal Research...

PARIS (Thomson Financial) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are likely to focus more on the problem of EADS' ownership and management structure than on its rapidly growing woes from a strong euro when they meet in Toulouse on Monday to discuss the company's future...

STRASBOURG, France (Thomson Financial) - Portuguese Finance Minister Fernando Teixeira dos Santos, whose country holds the EU presidency, said the current level of the euro is not a problem for the euro zone economy."I don't think and don't believe that we have a problem in exchange rates at the moment," Teixeira dos Santos told the European Parliament economic and monetary affairs committee...

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - The euro continued to post fresh all-time highs against the dollar, supported by an unexpected upward revision to first quarter GDP growth and robust industrial production figures.First quarter euro zone GDP was revised up to show a 0...

STRASBOURG, France (Thomson Financial) - The European Parliament expressed concern over the appreciation of the euro but rejected calls for closer coordination of exchange rate policy by the European Central Bank and finance ministers.The plenary session of the parliament voted in favour of a report from its economic and monetary affairs committee on the ECB with few amendments...

BEIJING (XFN-ASIA) - China will continue to monitor export receipts for fake transactions intended to disguise the entry of speculative funds, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) said.In a statement posted on its website, SAFE said that as of end-April it has classified 5,775 companies to be "of concern" and whose foreign exchange dealings are under specific surveillance...

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - European government bonds were off lows after the European Central Bank failed to reveal anything new in its still hawkish stance on interest rates.The ECB said in its monthly bulletin for July that it is monitoring inflation risks closely and remains ready to raise interest rates further if necessary...

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Oil rose in light early trade after yesterday's report on US fuel stockpiles failed to alleviate concerns over the supply of both crude and refined products in the US.Oil dipped slightly last night after inventory data from the Energy Information Administration showed a larger than expected rise in gasoline stocks and a bigger draw on crude, but retraced its losses this morning as supply concerns resurfaced...

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Copper rose after a report showing stocks fell to their lowest level since July last year stoked supply jitters.Stocks stored in LME certifies warehouses across the globe fell 725 tonnes to 98,625 tonnes, said the exchange in a daily report...

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Gold crept up near yesterday's one-month highs as the dollar plunged to a new all time low against the euro, and as gains in oil and other commodities leant support.At 10.05 am, spot gold was quoted at 663.40 usd per ounce, up from 660...

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - The euro climbed to a fresh all-time high against the dollar after a hawkish European Central Bank monthly bulletin, amid ongoing concern about the US sub-prime mortgage market.The ECB said it is monitoring inflation risks closely and remains ready to raise interest rates further if necessary...

TOKYO (Thomson Financial) - Japanese government bond prices closed mostly lower Thursday on position-adjustment after their rises yesterday, while investors waited for remarks the governor of the Bank of Japan was due to deliver after its policy board kept interest rates unchanged...

SEOUL (Thomson Financial) - The Bank of Korea on Thursday raised its benchmark call rate target by 25 basis points to a six-year high of 4.75 percent, the first increase in nearly a year, in a bid to mop up excess liquidity which it fears could feed on inflation...

FRANKFURT (Thomson Financial) - German finance minister Peer Steinbrueck sees Germany's economy weathering the current strength of the euro without suffering fundamental problems, according to Sueddeutsche Zeitung."The competitiveness of European economies is not determined on foreign exchange markets," Steinbrueck told the newspaper...

FRANKFURT (Thomson Financial) - Sharp differences have appeared between Germany and France after Chancellor Angela Merkel dismissed calls by French President Nicolas Sarkozy for a brake on the euro's rising value."I do not agree. I really do not want to go down that road and neither does the German government," Merkel told RTL television late Tuesday in response to Sarkozy's call for steps to reign in the record-breaking euro...

BEIJING (XFN-ASIA) - China is likely to tolerate above-forecast levels of monetary growth, apparently accepting that the strong economy will lead to some of its economic targets being surpassed, Deutsche Bank said.The People's Bank of China (PBoC) said M2 growth was 17...

SYDNEY (Thomson Financial) - The US dollar strengthened against the yen after the Bank of Japan on Thursday kept its overnight call rate target unchanged at 0.5 percent for the sixth straight meeting, as widely expected by the market.At 2.17 pm (0417 GMT) in Sydney, the dollar was trading at 122...

BEIJING (XFN-ASIA) - The People's Bank of China said it drained 45 bln yuan from the banking system via the sale of three-year bonds and three-month bank bills in today's open market operations.The bank said in a statement published on its website that the yield for the 1...

SINGAPORE (Thomson Financial) - Oil prices were higher in late morning Singapore trade Thursday as the market continued to fret over US gasoline (petrol) reserves, dealers said.At 10:39 am (0239 GMT), New York's main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for August delivery, was eight cents higher at 72...