Australian dollar lower on stronger US jobs data, Fed minutes

THE Australian dollar fell after the release of some good US employment data and the minutes of the Federal Reserve's December policy meeting.AEDT the local unit was trading at 89.07 US cents, down from 89.25 cents at yesterday's close.A report from payrolls firm ADP showed that US private-sector job growth surged in December, topping November for the strongest pace of the year with 238,000 jobs added.
Early this morning the minutes of the US Federal Reserve December policy meeting showed that most members were optimistic about the US economic recovery.

OM Financial senior client adviser Stuart Ive said the Australian dollar fell as the greenback strengthened against most of the major currencies.

"The first downward move came after the ADP employment data from the US, that data was a lot stronger than expected," he said. "It raises expectation that the Fed is going to continue cutting back on the economic stimulus.

"There was a bit of a fall as the US dollar strengthened, then equally we had another bit of a fall after the Fed minutes were released.

"They showed a bit more of an upbeat outlook from the Fed, that the economy is still marching along.

"I think we're looking at a stronger US dollar overall, it's not really an Australian dollar story today."

US Senate confirms Yellen as Federal Reserve chair

Janet Yellen as the new leader of the Federal Reserve, marking the first time a woman has headed the world's most powerful central bank.

President Barack Obama's nominee earned bipartisan support in the bitterly divided chamber, but the 56-26 vote was still among the closest in the 100-year history of the institution.

Several senators who supported Yellen, currently Fed vice-chair, arrived too late for the vote.

Yellen, 67, will replace current Chairman Ben Bernanke, who steps down on January 31 after eight years in the job, during which the pair dealt with the country's worst economic crisis since the Great Depre

ssion.

Bernanke's successor's main task will be ensuring the US economy does not slip backwards at a time when other countries are beset by weakness.

Especially crucial will be further pushing down the American jobless rate, which fell to 7.0 percent in November, still significantly higher than Bernanke, Yellen and other Fed policymakers have deemed satisfactory.

Obama cheered the Senate approval, saying Yellen would serve the central bank and the country well.

"The American people will have a fierce champion who understands that the ultimate goal of economic and financial policymaking is to improve the lives, jobs and standard of living of American workers and their families," he said in a statement.

"As one of our nation’s most respected economists and a leading voice at the Fed for more than a decade -- and vice chair for the past three years -- Janet helped pull our economy out of recession and put us on the path of steady growth."

Yellen has built a strong reputation as an academic economist, and as a veteran policymaker at the Fed she is not expected to veer far from the policies set by Bernanke.

SMERA Ratings Ltd

India’s leading credit rating agency SMERA Ratings Ltd (SMERA) has recently completed 25,000 Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises – (MSME) ratings in India.This milestone was achieved by SMERA in 8 years of its operations. SMERA Ratings Ltd., formerly known as SME Rating Agency of India Ltd., is a pioneer in MSME ratings and is also an accredited rating agency by Reserve Bank of India – (RBI) and Securities and Exchange Board of India – (SEBI).

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World oil demand to grow in 2014 by OPEC

With global economic growth in 2014 projected to increase to 3.5 per cent from 2.9 per cent in 2013, world oil demand is forecast to rise by one million barrels per day, according to the latest monthly bulletin of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

World oil demand is expected to grow by one million barrels a day (b/d) in 2014 compared with 900,000 b/d last year, supported by improved performances by the emerging economies and as the global economy continues to recover in general, it said.

"Oil demand growth continues to come mainly from non-OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries, while OECD oil demand is expected to show a further contraction, albeit at a slower rate," OPEC's Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR) observed.

Silver Sell

#Silver after gaining almost INR 3,000/- from its recent low of INR 42,435/- which is made on 31/12/2013 is expected to go down CMP- INR 45,570/- set to test level of INR 44,500/- to 45,000/- seller's to maintain strict stoploss

Happy new year

Happy New Year...May this year fill everyone life with joy, happiness & love

Copper finds support

The London Metal Exchange copper price retreated on Monday December 30 after hitting a four-month high last week but positive global macroeconomic data checked any significant falls.

At 02:15 London time, three-month copper was down $13 per tonne from its opening to trade at $7,368 per tonne. The eurozone consumer confidence improved in December to -13.6, the best reading since July 2011 while the GfK consumer confidence in Germany reached 7.6 in January, the highest since August 2007....

Silver lining to China-Russia trade clouds

China-Russia trade has downshifted, rising only 0.5 percent so far in 2013, and concern is growing that trade for the whole year might not grow at all from 2012.
With December's data not due till January, a sharp slowdown of bilateral trade this year is almost certain.

China-Russia trade value in Jan.-Nov. stood at 81 billion U.S. dollars, up 0.5 percent. The growth rate is more than 10 percentage points down on a year ago, according to China's general customs administration.

During the period, exports to Russia reached 44.56 billion U.S. dollars, up 11.3 percent while Russian exports to China stood at 36.52 billion U.S. dollars, down 10.1 percent.

"The global economic situation is the major cause of the slowdown," said Li Jianmin, a researcher on Russia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS).

External factors began to effect what was 88.2 billion U.S. dollars of trade in 2012, a record year. Growth that year of 11.2 percent, however was far below the dizzy heights of 42.7 percent and 43.1 percent in 2011 and 2010. The first half of 2013, saw the first contraction of trade since the global financial crisis in 2008, down 1.2 percent. Things have picked up slightly since.

Fundamental Analysis

Silver took a major fall today giving up 439 points or 2.19% to trade at 19.61 taking cue from gold along with a selloff in silver holding by iShares the largest silver ETF in the world.

Lower inventory levels send oil up above US$100

Crude-oil futures finished above US$100 a barrel on Friday after government data showed a greater-than-expected drop in inventory levels in the past week.

Crude for February delivery rose 0.8% to finish at US$100.32 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, for a 1% gain on the week.

On the other hand, gasoline for January delivery dropped by less than a penny to settle at just under US$2.82 a gallon after trading higher for most of the day.

Market outlook

Although silver has gained price but more or less it has happened because of bottom out hype created by bulls in market otherwise no real reason behind this price rigging only if it gives closing above ₹46k then upside trend can happen

China Seeks Comments on Revisions to Foreign Investment Laws

China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) is mulling over revising the country’s foreign #investment laws and is currently soliciting comments

Indian Rupee Falls

Indian rupee weakened against the US dollar in morning deals on Thursday.

The rupee fell to a 2-day low of 61.915 against the greenback. Further weakness could help the rupee to find support at the 62.6 area.