11.06.2013

Bank of Japan released a statement from their policy meeting today, saying that they intend to increase their monetary base by about 60-70 trillion JPY per annum. 50 trillion is to be spent on Japanese Government Bonds annually. The statement said that Japan’s economy is picking up, but that manufacturing has not been performing as well as expected. USD/JPY was trading at 97.95 with a high of 99.05 and a low of 97.79 so far.

The NIKKEI closed at 13317.60 down 196.58 or minus 1.45%

The ECB will argue in a German court today and tomorrow about proposed bond buying plans addressing the ECB’s Outright Monetary Transactions program and the European Stability Mechanism. Bank President Mario Draghi said yesterday that he has ‘full confidence in the constitutional court’s independence, also in its ability to examine with thoroughness and with fairness all the advice it is getting from all sides.’ European markets dropped and the EUR/USD was trading at 1.3267 with a high of 1.3291 and a low of 1.3247 so far. CABLE was trading at 1.5543 with a high of 1.5601 and a low of 1.5533 so far.

The FTSE100 closed at 6364.87 down 35.58 points or minus 0.56% while the DAX closed at 8255.87 down 51.82 or minus 0.62%

The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President, James Bullard, said yesterday that he does not support tapering of bond buying at this time, despite recent positive employment figures. In other US news recent leaks of classified information have been the main topic for discussion. It remains to be seen if it will have any effect on Barack Obama’s political career. It seems doubtful though, as support for the President remains at 48% in the most recent Gallup poll taken between the 3^rd and the 9^th of this month.

The DOW closed at 15238.60 down 9.53 or just 0.06%

Have a nice day.