Currencies

• EUR/USD The euro climbed toward a one-month high versus the dollar on speculation that interest rates will be raised next month.
  • The euro rose to $1.4618 at 1:48 p.m. in Tokyo from $1.4583 in New York yesterday.


• USD/JPY The yen rose against the U.S. dollar Wednesday as U.S. Treasury yields fell to new lows. However dollar was increasing in the early hours of today.
  • The dollar bought ¥80.11 around 7:30 a.m. London time, up from ¥79.95 late Wednesday.


• GBP/USD The pound weakened against the dollar yesterday after Moody's Investors Service said the U.K.'s Aaa credit rating may be at risk should the government miss its debt-reduction targets amid slowing growth.
  • The pound weakened 0.5 percent to $1.6365 as of 4:29 p.m. in London. However it rose again in the early trading hours of today, trading at $1.6408 around 7 a.m. London time.

Commodities

• Gold and silver futures settled lower yesterday, held back by a rise in the dollar against the euro as worries about European debt gripped investors.
  • The gold contract for June delivery fell $5.20, or 0.3%, to settle at $1,538.10 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
  • Silver for June delivery lost 42.10 cents, or 1.1%, to settle at $36.6190 a troy ounce.

• Oil rose for a third day in New York after OPEC failed to reach an agreement on production targets for the first time in at least 20 years and U.S. crude inventories fell more than analysts forecast.
  • OPEC's official output quota has stood at 24.845 million barrels a day since January 2009.
  • Crude for July delivery rose as much as 73 cents to $101.47 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, and was at $101.32 at 1:32 p.m. Sydney time

Equities

• U.S. declined as raw-material and financial shares slumped amid growing concern the economy is slowing.
  • Visa Inc. and MasterCard Inc. fell at least 1.5 percent.
  • The S&P 500 fell 0.4 percent to 1,279.56 at 4 p.m. in New York, dropping for a sixth day.
  • The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 21.87 points, or 0.2 percent, to 12,048.94 yesterday.


• European stock dropped for a sixth day after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke gave no hint that the central bank will unveil a new round of stimulus.
  • European stocks extended their losses after Moody's said that the U.K. could lose its Aaa rating if the government misses its target to reduce debt as the economy slows.
  • U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index retreated 1 percent.
  • Germany's DAX Index lost 0.6 percent and France's CAC 40 Index slid 0.9 percent.


• Asian stocks fell after the Federal Reserve said the U.S. economy is slowing in some regions, adding to signs the global recovery is weakening.
  • The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.7 percent to 132.16 as of 1:25 p.m. in Tokyo.
  • Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average slipped 0.4 percent.
  • Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dropped 1 percent and China's Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.6 percent.

Sources: Bloomberg, FT