Currencies

• EUR/USD The pair traded slightly lower in early trading hours in Asia as the White House and the House Republicans agreed, during the weekend, on a stop-gap deal to avoid a government shutdown. The U.S. government is projected to slam into the $14.3 trillion legal cap on government borrowing. The euro fell to $1.4461 as of 1:35 p.m. in Tokyo from $1.4483 on April 8, when it rose to $1.4489.


• EUR/JPY Europe's common currency retreated from its highest level since May 2010 against the yen as technical charts signaled the past month's 7.6 percent rally may reverse. The currency declined to 122.49 yen from 122.76 last week, after earlier reaching 123.33 yen.


• GBP/USD Cable opened in Asia at 1.6381 and has had a typical start to the week following big moves on a Friday. The pair initially traded down to 1.6365 early on before rallying to 1.6392.

Commodities

GOLD climbed to a record high as investors sought precious metals as a hedge against accelerating inflation and mounting concerns on Libya. Gold strengthened 3.8 percent this year after rallying 30 percent in 2010 on the prospect of currency debasement and rising inflation. The fighting in the Middle East, a nuclear crisis in Japan and European sovereign-debt problems have also bolstered demand for precious metals. Immediate-delivery bullion gained as much as 0.2 percent to $1,478.18 an ounce and traded at $1,473.20 at 11:47 a.m. in Singapore. Gold for June in New York climbed yesterday as much as 0.3 percent to $1,478 an ounce.

CRUDE OIL traded near a 30-month high in New York as Middle East unrest disrupted crude production and investors purchased commodities as a hedge against the declining dollar. Crude oil for May delivery was at $112.70 a barrel, down 9 cents, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 12:19 p.m. Singapore time. Futures climbed 2.3 percent to $112.79 on April 8, the highest since Sept. 22, 2008.

Sources: Bloomberg, FT