• MTS Economic News_20161220

    20 Dec 2016 | Economic News

The dollar was bouncing back towards its 14-year high against a basket of major currencies on Tuesday as the yen quickly gave up some of its gains following deadly incidents in Turkey and Germany.

The U.S. dollar remained well-bid against many other currencies, with its index rising back to 103.36 from Monday's low of 102.52, coming within sight of its 14-year peak of 103.56 touched on Thursday.

The Bank of Japan kept monetary policy steady and gave a more upbeat view of the economy on Tuesday, reinforcing market expectations that its future policy direction could be an increase - not a cut - in interest rates.

Reflecting a pick-up in emerging Asian demand and factory output, the central bank upgraded its language to signal its confidence that the economy is headed for a steady recovery.

"Japan's economy continues to recover moderately as a trend," the BOJ said in a statement announcing the policy decision. It also offered a brighter view on exports and output to say they are picking up.

As widely expected, the BOJ kept unchanged its pledge to guide short-term rates at minus 0.1 percent and the 10-year government bond yield around zero percent.


Oil prices were steady on Tuesday in timid trading ahead of the year-end holidays, with investors beginning to unwind positions without expecting to take up new ones until the start of 2017.

International Brent crude oil futures LCOc1 were trading at $54.98 per barrel at 0759 GMT, down up 6 cents from their last close.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures CLc1 were down 15 cents at $51.97 per barrel.

Crude at $55 a barrel is the magic number for the oil and gas industry to turn around, Wood Mackenzie said in a new report released Monday, as the consultancy sounded an optimistic note on recent joint production cut announcements by OPEC and major non-OPEC countries.

If the cuts materialize to push oil prices up sustainably to $55 a barrel or more, the oil and gas industry will turn cash flow positive in 2017, marking the first upturn for sector since a prolonged downturn that started in the summer of 2014.

"If we stay (at $55 a barrel), the world's biggest oil companies start to make money again. If we go back down to $50 (or lower) in 2017...then those companies are in the negative territory and they go back into survival mode where they have been in the last two years," said Angus Rodger, the consultancy's research director for upstream oil and gas.


Reference: Reuters

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