Jalatama Artha Berjangka News

The euro traded 0.1 percent from the lowest in almost three months amid speculation European Central Bank President Mario Draghi and his policy board will revise down their economic outlook and signal monetary easing today.

The pound dropped to the lowest since July 2010 before the Bank of England meets. Poland’s central bank unexpectedly cut its main interest rate to a record low yesterday amid Europe’s debt crisis. The dollar was near the highest level since May 2010 versus the yen before data tomorrow forecast to show U.S. companies added more workers in February.

“The euro and sterling are heavy as markets speculate on the possibility of surprises from central banks with both the ECB and BOE meeting after Poland surprised,” said Tim Kelleher, the Auckland-based head of institutional foreign-exchange sales at ASB Institutional, a unit of Commonwealth Bank of Australia. (CBA) “If non-farm payrolls are strong you’ll probably continue to see dollar strength.”

The euro traded at $1.2978 at 10:03 a.m. in Tokyo from yesterday, when it touched $1.2965, the lowest since Dec. 11. The shared currency fetched 122.01 yen from 121.98 in New York. The dollar was at 94.02 yen after gaining 0.8 percent yesterday. It reached 94.77 on Feb. 25, the highest since May 2010.

The pound touched $1.4967, the lowest since July 2010, before trading at $1.4987, down 0.2 percent.

(Source: Bloomberg)

The dollar remained lower after declining yesterday against most of its 16 major counterparts before a private jobs report in the U.S. forecast to show companies added positions in February.

Demand for the U.S. currency was limited before the Federal Reserve releases its Beige Book report. The euro was little changed against the yen for a third day before European Central Bank President Mario Draghi and his board meet tomorrow. Speculation that central banks will continue stimulus helped spur the Dow Jones Industrial Average to a record in New York. Australia’s dollar rose for a second day versus major peers as data showed economic growth accelerated last quarter.

“The dollar is being sold in a risk-on trade,” said Kazuo Shirai, a trader at Union Bank NA in Los Angeles. “The Dow Average climbed to a record and Treasuries were sold. The market is waiting for the jobs report.”

The dollar traded at $1.3060 per euro as of 9:56 a.m. in Tokyo after falling 0.2 percent to $1.3052 in New York. It fetched 93.16 yen from 93.29 yesterday, when it weakened 0.2 percent. The euro was little changed at 121.66 yen.

U.S. companies took on more workers last month after adding the most jobs in almost a year in January, figures from the Roseland, New Jersey-based ADP Research Institute will probably show today.

(Source: Bloomberg)

Cocoa futures fell to a 14-month low on speculation that rain in Ivory Coast, the world’s largest producer, will boost supplies and add to increasing stockpiles.

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecast as much as 40 millimeters (1.6 inches) to 50 millimeters of rain in most of Ivory Coast and Ghana, the second-biggest cocoa grower, through March 11. In February, inventory in warehouses monitored by ICE Futures U.S. jumped 16 percent, the most in 11 months.

“Widespread rains have arrived in West Africa, providing welcome relief to cocoa producers,” Kona Haque, an analyst at Macquarie Group Ltd. in London, said in a report. “This is likely adding to the bearish near-term sentiment.”

Cocoa futures for May delivery slid 1.2 percent to settle at $2,056 a metric ton at 11:58 a.m. on ICE in New York, the lowest closing price since Jan. 6, 2012. The price has dropped 8.1 percent this year.

On March 1, the International Cocoa Organization projected a shortfall of 45,000 metric tons in the 12 months ending Sept. 30. Output in Ivory Coast was estimated at 1.47 million tons, down from 1.486 million tons a year earlier, and Ghana’s production will be 820,000 tons, the London-based group said.

The organization “appears to be confirming a suspicion that has already been simmering on the market for some time: the expectation, initially to be heard frequently, that the deficit could turn out to be around the 100,000-ton mark, is likely to have been pitched significantly too high,” Carsten Fritsch, a commodity analyst at Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt, said in a report.

(Source: Bloomberg)

Palm oil inventories in Indonesia, the world’s largest producer, may drop 8 percent this year as a significant increase in demand outstrips record supplies, according to Derom Bangun, chairman of the nation’s palm board.

Stockpiles of the oil used in food and fuels may contract to 2.3 million metric tons from the 2.5 million tons estimated at the end of 2012, said Bangun, who is scheduled to speak this week at an annual palm conference in Kuala Lumpur arranged by Bursa Malaysia Bhd. Production may reach an all-time high of about 30 million tons, Bangun said in a phone interview from Jakarta, reiterating a forecast made on Feb. 18.

The world’s most-used cooking oil is mired in a bear market as supply and stockpiles have surged to records. Futures on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives lost 23 percent last year as an economic slowdown in China and the European debt crisis curbed demand. Dorab Mistry, a director at Godrej International Ltd. who’s traded the oil for more than three decades, has said the outlook for 2013 is bearish as global oilseed supplies increase.

“Although there will be an increase in production in both Indonesia and Malaysia, I strongly believe that at the same time there will be a significant increase in demand in India, China, Indonesia and Europe,” said Bangun. “Demand will slightly exceed supply. So I’m bullish.”

Palm futures on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives, a unit of the Bursa Malaysia, closed at 2,368 ringgit ($765) a ton on March 1 after dropping for eight days in the worst run since 2006. Bangun declined to give a price forecast before his March 6 presentation at the Palm and Lauric Oils Conference & Exhibition.

(Source: Bloomberg)

The euro was poised for its longest stretch of weekly declines since June on prospects for lower interest rates in the region with data today forecast to confirm a manufacturing contraction worsened.

Europe’s common currency fell in February, snapping six months of gains, as European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said this week the bank is “far” from exiting stimulus measures. Annual consumer-price growth slowed in February, a report today will probably show. The dollar and yen were set to advance against most major peers this week as the U.S. Senate rejected a pair of partisan proposals to replace $85 billion in automatic spending cuts set to begin today.

“Everyone thought that Europe was saved, but looking at the data of late, things aren’t looking that great,” said Richard Breen, a Sydney-based senior consultant at Rochford Capital, a currency and interest-rate risk management company. “Weak manufacturing data there is going to continue to put pressure on the euro.”

The euro was at $1.3064 as of 9:28 a.m. in Tokyo and has declined 1 percent this week. It traded at 120.91 yen from 120.85 yesterday, set for a 1.9 percent drop since Feb. 22. The yen fetched 92.55 per dollar from 92.56 yesterday and 93.42 last week.

The 17-nation euro slid against 14 of its 16 major peers in February, losing 3.8 percent against the greenback and 3 percent against the yen. The dollar rose 0.9 percent versus the yen last month, a fifth monthly gain, the longest winning streak since August 2008.

(Source: Bloomberg)