Tuesday 9 March 2010

Futures Trading Blogs for News on Metals: Euro in Danger?

Today, Pitguru blogs will bring you a piece of news in Metals market. Here is a good article that i found from Bloomberg stating Greeces credit rating might be lowered and the Euro losing ground against the USD and the Euro to new yearly low… This will have a huge impact on the precious metals markets..

“The euro fell toward a one-year low against the yen on speculation Greece’s credit rating will be downgraded as the country struggles to push through fiscal cuts demanded by the European Union.”

Europe’s single currency also dropped toward a nine-month low against the dollar after Standard & Poor’s said it may cut Greece’s rating again by the end of March as a weak economy and political opposition threaten the nation’s ability to reduce the EU’s largest budget deficit. The dollar gained against 15 of its 16 major counterparts before a report today forecast to show U.S. durable goods orders increased.

“There are concerns that Greece may not be rescued,” said Satoshi Okagawa, head of the foreign-exchange forward trading group at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. in Tokyo. “This is causing selling of the euro and buying of the yen, and leading to risk aversion.”

The euro dropped to 121.10 yen as of 11:09 a.m. in Tokyo from 122.03 yen in New York yesterday. It fell to 120.71 yen on Feb. 5, the lowest since Feb. 24, 2009.

The 16-nation euro declined to $1.3494 from $1.3538. It touched $1.3444 on Feb. 19, the lowest since May 18. The European currency has fallen 2.6 percent versus the dollar this month, heading for a third monthly loss, its longest stretch since November 2008. The dollar fell to 89.75 yen from 90.15 yen.

The cost of protecting against default on Greek government bonds increased 13 basis points to 384 yesterday, according to CMA DataVision prices.

Rating Downgrade

“We believe that a further downgrade of Greece of one to two notches is possible within a month,” S&P analysts led by Marko Mrsnik in London said in a statement released late yesterday.

S&P cut Greece’s rating twice in December to BBB+ and signaled at the time it may lower it again. Greece has struggled to persuade investors it can slash its budget deficit from last year’s 12.7 percent of gross domestic product.

“I’m not sure if other nations have enough resources to help Greece,” said Tsutomu Soma, a bond and currency dealer at Okasan Securities Co. in Tokyo. “If the issue is neglected, that will stoke concerns about the euro. The dollar remains strong against the euro on a relative basis.”

Bookings for durable goods in the U.S. climbed 1.5 percent last month after rising 0.3 percent in December, according to the median estimate of economists in a Bloomberg News survey before the Commerce Department reports the data today. ”

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