Source: Kinga Warda¸ PKF Malta¸ May 2013

Oil Declines

Extending its biggest weekly drop in more than a month¸ the West Texas Intermediate Oil dropped for a fourth day. The fall indicates another sign of rising the fuel supplies in the U.S and the weakness in the global economy.

Ric Spooner¸ a chief market analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney said: “The tone of the market remains soft. Growth in oil demand has been very moderate. This week’s figures in the U.S. were a bit disappointing with a big build-up in gasoline inventories as we start to move into the early part of summer¸ showing a well-supplied market.”

West Texas Intermediate crude oil for July delivery dropped to $93.65 a barrel in New York. Gasoline for June fell 2.64 cents¸ to end the session at $2.8194 a gallon on the Nymex. It was the lowest since May 2. Trading volume was 25 percent above the 100-day average.

European Stocks Rose¸ Asian Shares fell

The Stoxx Europe 600 index rose 0.3% to 304.34¸ rebounding from its first weekly loss in more than a month. Peter Garnry¸ equity strategist at Saxo Bank¸ said: “We believe the equity market is still driven by the momentum trade¸ lower tail-risk due to central bank policies and benign valuations across the board”.

Asian shares fell after Japan’s top central banker suggested interest rates may gain as the economy improves.

Emerging Markets

“The MSCI Emerging Markets Index added 0.2 percent following the biggest weekly decline in seven weeks. Benchmark gauges in India¸ Poland and Taiwan rose at least 0.9 percent¸ while the Philippine Stock Exchange Index tumbled 2.4 percent¸ the most since June 4” [1] MRV Engenharia e Participacoes SA¸ one of Brazil’s biggest real estate developers¸ reported a worse-than-expected first-quarter net profit and led losses among members of the Ibovespa benchmark¸ which closed little changed.

Yen Strengthens

The yen rose against the dollar after last week’s 1.9 percent increase¸ the biggest since the five days ended June 1¸ 2012. Analysts said the dollar could drop further against the yen if stocks continued to decline. But they expected the trend of yen weakness and dollar strength to remain given aggressive easing in Japan and the prospect of tighter U.S. policy.

“The yen also rallied versus the euro and other currencies¸ further buoyed by a jump in 10-year Japanese government bonds yields¸ to 1.000 percent¸ the highest in a year”.[2]