Thursday, 12 Aug 2010

U.S Jobless Claims Weigh on Markets

Oil decreased as much as 3% as initial jobless claims rose by 2,000 to 484,000 last week, the highest level since February. Spot Crude dropped below 76$ a barrel late Thursday after reaching a low of 75.55$ earlier in the session. Crude declined as the increase in U.S jobless claims strengthened concerns that fuel demand will drop as economic growth will continue to falter.

The Dollar rose for a 4th consecutive day versus the EUR as fears of a global slowdown turned investors away from equities and other riskier assets in favor of the safe haven USD and JPY. The EUR declined to $1.2825, down from $1.2889 in late North American trading Wednesday. The single currency fell as low as $1.2780 earlier, the weakest level seen since July 22.

The Japanese Yen gave up some of its profits against the USD earlier in the session after comments from Japanese officials hinted at intervention in the foreign-exchange market.