NEWS / Foreign Exchange

European Indices Trade Lower in a Quiet Session

- In a quiet session overnight the European indices are currently trading in negative territory in the session led lower by the energy companies on declining oil prices after OPEC left output unchanged yesterday and decided that they may not hold another meeting until September.

- European government bonds are currently trading higher in the session, and are just a few hours off from booking a gain for the full week. Yields dropped this week as investors sought the safety of bonds in the face of bankruptcies in the US, increasing concern about a possible economic slowdown in the US/

- The French current account deficit narrowed from December to a deficit of ?‚¬2.8B. Analysts expected that current account deficit to widen.

- The Italian total trade balance fell to a one-year low overnight at a deficit of ?‚¬3.68B.

- In a quiet session on the energy front, front month crude oil futures are currently trading at the unchanged level. Spot gold is trading up by nearly $5.00, while spot silver and front month copper futures are trading up by 0.4% and 0.2% respectively.