Currencies

• EUR/USD The euro declined for a second day against the dollar on speculation Greece may be unable to avoid a default even after officials said debt restructuring isn't being discussed.
  • The cost of insuring Greek government debt increased to a record on April 15, with the contracts indicating investors see a greater than 60 percent chance the nation will default within five years.
  • The euro was $1.4384 as of 1:19 p.m. and earlier reached $1.4350


• USD/JPY and the JPY crosses traded lower initially with EUR/JPY firmly in the lead.
  • USD/JPY followed, down from 83.27 to 82.86.


• GBP/USD The pair initially headed higher in Asian trading until the EU peripheral debt crisis fears took EUR/USD lower.
  • Cable began the new week in Asia at 1.6304, a touch lower than the 1.6315 NY close, and has traded a 1.6282/25 range so far and last at 1.6307.

Commodities

• Gold advanced to a record for a third day as mounting inflation around the globe and Europe's sovereign-debt crisis prompted investors to seek a store of value.
  • Inflation in the 17-nation euro region quickened to 2.7 percent from 2.4 percent in February, the European Union's statistics office said last week.
  • Immediate-delivery bullion gained 0.1 percent to $1,488.68 an ounce and traded little changed at $1,485.35 at 10 a.m. in Singapore.
  • Gold for June delivery in New York also climbed to an all-time high of $1,489.70 an ounce.

• Oil declined for the first time in four days in New York after Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest exporter, said the global market has plenty crude supplies.
  • Futures slipped as much as 0.9 percent after Saudi Arabia's Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said yesterday the "market is oversupplied.".
  • Crude oil for May delivery slid as much as 94 cents to $108.72 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract was at $109.17 at 11:09 a.m. Singapore time.

Equities

• U.S. and Europe stocks rallied Friday on better than expected US economic data.
  • The Empire State Mfg Survey level rose to 21.7 from 17.5
  • Producer price inflation at the headline level in March remains under heightened upward pressure from higher oil costs.
  • Europe's Change in the price of goods and services purchased by consumers was 2.7% (from 2.6%).
  • The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.46 percent, to 12,341.83.
  • The S&P 500 increased 0.39% to 1,319.68.
  • The U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index ended at 5,996.01 up 0.54%.
  • DAX 30 ended higher by 0.44% to close at 7,178.29, while CAC 40 Index closed up 0.10% to close at 3,974.48.


• Asian stocks swung between gains and losses after China raised the reserve requirements for the country's banks to tame inflation, fueling concern more tightening measures will curb economic growth.
  • Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 0.2 percent.
  • Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbed 0.4 percent, erasing earlier losses, while China's Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index increased 0.4 percent.

Sources: Bloomberg, FT