Forex / Asia news

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - The euro and the pound were both stronger ahead of interest rate decisions later today, with the euro setting a fresh all-time high against the yen.The European Central Bank is widely expected to keep interest rates on hold at 4...

JAKARTA (Thomson FInancial) - Bank Indonesia has slashed its benchmark interest rate by another 25 basis points to 8.25 percentwith inflation under control, central bank governor Burhanuddin Abdullah said Thursday.The decision was widely expected by economists after inflation data last month came in at the lower end of their estimates...

TOKYO (Thomson Financial) - Japanese government bond prices closed lower Thursday on firmer stock prices, with market sentiment staying weak as European bond prices remained under pressure, while US markets provided no leads as they were closed Wednesday for the Independence Day holiday...

FRANKFURT (Thomson Financial) - German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck said the government has to pursue an "active industrial policy" to protect local firms in the telecommunications, banking, postal, logistics and energy sectors from being taken over by foreign state-owned funds...

TOKYO (Thomson Financial) - The Japanese trade ministry will launch senior-level exchanges with the Bank of Japan by early August to urge the central bank to slow its credit-tightening to help ease the pain of small firms hit by surging material costs, a senior METI official said...

SINGAPORE (Thomson Financial) - Oil prices were slightly lower in Asian trading hours Thursday as the market awaited the weekly report on US energy inventories, with all eyes on the figures for gasoline stocks.At 1.48 pm here (0548 GMT), the New York Mercantile Exchange's main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in August, was six cents lower at 71...

SYDNEY (Thomson Financial) - The US dollar was little changed against other major currencies in the middle of the Asian session Thursday as traders waited on the sidelines after the holiday in the US Wednesday.Later in the day, the Bank of England's and European Central Bank's decisions on interest rates will be the focus, followed by the release of the results of the US ADP employment and Institute of Supply Management services surveys for June...

TOKYO (Thomson Financial) - Japan's index of leading economic indicators rose to 30.0 in May from 18.2 in April, but still less thanwhat the market had expected, according to preliminary data released by the Cabinet Office onThursday.Economists had forecast that the leading index for May would be at 40...

SEOUL (Thomson Financial) - South Korea's June consumer expectations index, which measures consumer sentiment for the next six months, stayed above the benchmark level of 100 points for a third month, reinforcing the view that growth in Asia's fourth largest economy will gain pace in the coming months, data from the National Statistics Office showed...

TOKYO (Thomson Financial) - Japanese government bond prices ended the morning session Thursday mostly lower as stock prices rose, and in the absence of strong positive cues from offshore, with US financial markets closed Wednesday for the Independence Day holiday...

MANILA (Thomson Financial) - The Philippines' annual inflation slowed to 2.3 percent in June from 2.4 percent in the previous month, the National Statistics Office said Thursday, easing pressure on the central bank to further tighten its monetary policy to rein in excess funds...

SINGAPORE (Thomson Financial) - The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) said it will auction off a 1.04-hectare site on Singapore's Scotts Road at a short-term lease of 10 years to augment shortage in office space.The site, which is right next to the Newton MRT station, will be a low-rise office building of three tofour storeys high that can be built quickly in about a year, URA said in a statement releasedWednesday...

SYDNEY (Thomson Financial) - The US dollar was slightly higher against the yen and steady against the euro in early Asian trading hours Thursday, but remained within narrow ranges after the Independence Day holiday in the US Wednesday.This situation is expected to last until later Thursday, when the Bank of England and the European Central Bank (ECB) announce their decisions on interest rates...

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - The pound remained firm but was off the series of 26-year highs posted earlier against the dollar with the US Independence Day holiday and tomorrow's interest rate decisions in the euro zone and UK preventing any major movements in the currency markets...

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - The pound stayed well-bid as it set a series of 26-year highs against the dollar amid growing expectations that interest rates in the UK are set to climb.Investors have already fully priced in a quarter point rate hike to 5...

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Standard Bank has raised its lead price average for 2007 after the heavy metal hit a succession of record highs in June on concerns over tight global supplies.The average price forecast for 2007 has been increased to 2,175 usd per tonne, from 1,940 usd per tonne...

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Standard Bank analysts have revised their copper surplus estimates down for 2007 and 2008 due to the increased potential for significant strike action to impact production.The investment bank now estimates that global copper surplus will be 155,000 tonnes in 2007 and 185,000 tonnes in 2008...

TOKYO (Thomson Financial) - Japanese government bond prices closed lower Wednesday, following the falls in US and European bond prices Tuesday, with the market also discouraged by the surprisingly poor demand at the auction Tuesday of new 10-year Japanese government bonds...

SYDNEY (Thomson Financial) - The US dollar was lower against the yen and euro in midafternoon trade here Wednesday, with few leads in sight to spur activity and trades remaining thin given the July 4 holiday in the US.At 2.29 pm (0429 GMT), the dollar was at 122...

KUALA LUMPUR (Thomson Financial) - Malaysia recorded a trade surplus of 7.889 billion ringgit in May, against 7.989 billion a year earlier, the Statistics Department said Wednesday.The trade surplus in April was revised to 5.861 billion ringgit from 6...