INDIAN INR
MARKETS
INR advanced 0.2 % to 55.03 ,it had touched 55.1350 yesterday. 1-month volatility, fell 5 BP to 8.43 %. 3-month forwards at 55.95 vs. 56.04. 3-Month NDF were at 55.82 vs. 55.88.
FACTORS
• Inflation eased to a 41-month low (4.89 % in April)
• Global funds bought $883 million of shares last week
• Global holdings of ll debt rose to a record $38 Bln on May 17.
• Auction of $1 Bln of sovereign debt-purchase permits was oversubscribed yesterday.
• Current account deficit rose to 5% of GDP (Record High)
• Bernanke : 22nd May : U.S. economic outlook for a Joint Economic Committee of Congress.
GOLD
MARKETS
Gold fell on Tuesday for the 8th of 9 sessions. Gold had fallen 0.3 % to $1,388.36 in Asian hours . Gold gained 2.6 % on Monday after a seven-session slide to cross the 1400$ mark .Gold futures gained 0.2 % to $1,386.90. Silver was down 1.4 % at $22.61. It hit a session low of $22.41, not far off the 2-1/2 year low of $20.84 on Monday, when it eventually closed 3 % higher.
FACTORS
• Gold fell as the USD appreciated
• Opinion: Fed may soon stop its monthly $85-Bln bond purchases.
• Holdings of the largest ETF, the iShares Silver Trust have fallen to their lifetime low
• SPDR Gold Trust holdings down to 1,031.50 MT (4 year low)
• Physical demand in India, down after a rise of 138 % in April.
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
MARKETS
USD rose 0.2 % to 102.69 JPY after economics minister Akira Amari said he hoped the JPY settles at a level justified by fundamentals and where the impact on imports and exports is balanced. GBP rose 0.1 % to $1.5289, paring gains after earlier climbing to as high as $1.5368
FACTORS
JPY Falls Versus Peers After Amari Remarks
U.S. Faces Downgrade in 2013 Without Budget Deal, Moody's Warns
Pound Gains From Six-Week Low Versus USD; Gilts Decline
COPPER
MARKETS
3-month copper slipped 0.41 % to $7,369, reversing gains of more than 1 % from the previous session.
FACTORS
• Opinion of slowing demand growth in China
• Key factory figures this week from US .
OIL
MARKETS
WTI June at $96.89 up 18 cents, . The contract expires today. The volume of all contracts traded was 18 % below the 100-day average. The more active July future rose 20 cents to $97.13. Front-month prices increased 69 cents yesterday, or 0.7 %, to $96.71, the highest close since April 2. Brent July up 23 cents to $105.03. Brent was at a premium of $7.90 to WTI futures.
FACTORS
• Forecast to show the first back-to-back decrease in stockpiles this year. (800,000 barrels)
• U.S. Memorial Day on May 27 marks the start of the nation's peak driving period.
• U.S. refineries operated at 88.4 % of capacity in the week of May 17, up 0.4 %.
• Syrian government forces started an offensive against rebels.
• Middle East accounted for 33 % of global oil output in 2011.