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Eurozone Trade Deficit Narrows In December

(RTTNews) - Eurozone's non-seasonally adjusted trade deficit narrowed to EUR 0.5 billion in December from a revised EUR 1.5 billion in the previous month, Eurostat reported Tuesday.

Economists were looking for a shortfall of EUR 1.1 billion for December. The previous month's deficit figure was revised from EUR 0.4 billion.

Exports increased unadjusted 20% year-on-year, while imports grew 24%. In November, the corresponding figures were 24% and 29%, respectively.

Seasonally adjusted trade deficit declined to EUR 2.3 billion from EUR 3.2 billion in November.

In 2010, euro area trade surplus decreased to EUR 0.7 billion from EUR 16.6 billion in the previous year.

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Eurozone Q4 GDP Grows Less Than Forecast

(RTTNews) - The Eurozone economy expanded 0.3% sequentially in the fourth quarter of 2010, unchanged from the third quarter, preliminary data from the Eurostat showed on Tuesday.

Economists had forecast the economy to grow by 0.4%.

On an annual basis, gross domestic product climbed 2% following the 1.9% increase in the third quarter.

In 2010 as a whole, the economy of the currency bloc expanded by 1.7%.

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Midday Commentary - 15 Feb 2011

Technical Outlook for STI

The muted display by US stocks overnight did not provide any inspiration for the local bourse, as the STI continued to display signs of inherent weakness this morning. 

Despite a positive opening (up 0.2%), the STI slipped into the red shortly after by as much as 0.6%. By midday break, there were still no signs of any turnaround as the index closed just a tad above its intraday low (still 0.6% lower). 

Overall volume traded climbed 20% to 758m units, compared to around 634m yesterday morning, while average value per share fell to S$0.93 versus S$1.26 seen during last yesterday’s AM session. Meanwhile, losers overwhelmed winners at 319 to 99. 

Technically, the index is still trending down steadily following the bearish reversal at the upper boundary of its 11-day intraday downtrend channel. But with the intraday MACD indicator already on the verge of a bullish crossover at the moment, we could potentially see a mild rebound in the afternoon.

As noted this morning, the heavy correction seen last week has set a rather bearish tone for the medium term outlook. Until the 3120 level (now key support-turned-resistance) is convincingly re-taken, the chances of further correction in the weeks ahead remain fairly high.
   
Beyond the 3120 key resistance, the subsequent resistance can be found at 3180 (support-turned-resistance). On the downside, we continue to peg the key support at 3043 (key resistance-turned-support), followed by 3000 (key psychological support).

/ocbc IR/

 

Lower Chinese CPI Helps Risk Appetite In Asia - Westpac

(RTTNews) - Analysts at Westpac noted on Tuesday that the Chinese CPI, which rose less than expected in January, helped risk appetite in Asian deals.

Consumer prices rose 4.9% in January from a year earlier, following a 4.6% gain in December. But the annual growth in prices came in below analyst expectations for an increase of 5.4%. Westpac noted that the financial markets took some comfort as the lower than expected Chinese CPI will not urge China to further tighten its monetary policy soon.

EUR/USD rose to a high of 1.3528 and AUD/USD climbed to a peak of 1.0058. JPY also moved, falling to its lowest level of 83.79 since May 2010 against the AUD.

Westpac suggests that risk could remain bid for the near term amid the combination of solid imports plus softer CPI in China, although the firm expects the Chinese data to likely slip off the radar screen as the European GDP, U.K. CPI and U.S. retail sales are expected to be released in the upcoming hours.

Equity markets around the Asia pushed higher, although there was not much follow through buying and some markets have slipped back into the red for the session.

However, Westpac noted that USD/Asia generally traded lower today, although the moves have not been dramatic. USD/CNY is lower as better equity market performance in recent sessions spurred CNY gains. The 12 month USD/CNY non-deliverable forwards is off around 0.2% and back at the 6.4350 level.

Elsewhere, USD/KRW is trading back at the 1122 level but is yet to break back down through 1120. Other gains have been more modest in line with mixed equity market performance and Westpac still sense an overall degree of caution from the market.

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2/15/2011 12:08:48 AM Singapore retail sales rose by a seasonally adjusted 2.7% at current prices in December from November, the Department of Statistics said Tuesday. The growth rate accelerated from November's 0.8% rise.

Excluding motor vehicles, retail sales advanced 2.2% annually compared with a 0.7% rise in the previous month.

Retail sales in December increased 1.8% from a year-ago period, reversing a 2.3% drop in November. Excluding motor vehicles, retail sales grew by 8.6%

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