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China Industrial Profits Dip For Third Month Amid Economic Slowdown China's industrial firms reported a decline in their profits for the third month in a row as slowing economy dampened demand, the latest figures from the National Bureau of Statistics revealed Friday. Profits declined 1.7 percent year-on-year in June to CNY 468.2 billion. This followed a 5.3 percent drop in May and 2.2 percent fall in April. For the first six months of the year, profits dipped 2.2 percent annually to CNY 2.31 trillion. Total industrial revenue for the first half was 11.3 percent higher than the same period last year. Official data showed this month that growth in China's industrial production slowed to 9.5 percent in June from 9.6 percent in May. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said this week that the foundation for stable industrial performance is fragile and downward pressures still remain. China's economic growth eased to 7.6 percent in the second quarter, logging the weakest growth rate since the first quarter of 2009. The International Monetary Fund expects China's economic growth to moderate to around 8 percent this year. The Fund has warned that China faces significant downside to its economic outlook, mainly due to weak global economic conditions. More FOREX-news on pages InstaForex.Com

European Economics Preview: Germany's GfK Consumer Sentiment Data Due Consumer confidence from Germany is the major report due on Thursday, headlining a light day for the European economic news. The market research group GfK is set to publish German consumer sentiment survey results at 2.00 am ET. The forward-looking index is expected to remain at 5.8 in August. In the meantime, Germany's import prices are due. Economists forecast import prices to rise 1.9 percent annually in June after increasing 2.2 percent in May. At 3.15 am ET, Sweden's economic tendency survey results are due. The index is seen easing to 98 in July from 98.7 in June. Statistics Sweden is slated to publish producer prices for June at 3.30 am ET. Producer price inflation is seen at 0.4 percent in June, up from from 0.3 percent in May. Also, Sweden's trade balance and unemployment figures for June are due. Half an hour later, the European Central Bank is set to release Eurozone M3 money supply for June. M3 money supply is expected to grow at a pace of 2.9 percent annually. In the meantime, retail sales data from Poland and Italy are due. Italy's retail sales are forecast to drop 0.3 percent month-on-month in May, while Poland's retail sales are expected to rise 9 percent in June. At 5.10 am ET, Italy's BTP auction results are due. The government plans to offer EUR 1.5 billion to EUR 2.5 billion zero coupon bonds. More FOREX-news on pages InstaForex.Com

European Economics Preview: U.K. GDP, German Ifo Business Confidence Due Quarterly national accounts from the U.K. and business sentiment from Germany are the major reports due on Wednesday, headlining a busy day for the European economic news. At 3.30 am ET, Statistics Netherlands is scheduled to release producer confidence survey data. The sentiment is expected to improve to -4.7 in July from -4.8 in June. At 4.00 am ET, Germany's Ifo business confidence is due. Economists forecast business sentiment to fall to 104.5 from 105.3 in June. At the same time, current assessment and expectations are seen easing to 113 and 96.8, respectively. The Office for National Statistics is set to publish first estimate for the first quarter U.K. GDP at 4.30 am ET. The economy is forecast to contract 0.2 percent sequentially after falling 0.3 percent in the prior quarter. Germany is set to hold a long-term debt auction to raise EUR 3 billion. The results are due at 5.30 am ET. At 6.00 am ET, the Confederation of British Industry is slated to release Industrial Trends survey results for July. The order book balance is seen at -10 percent, up from -11 percent in June. More FOREX-news on pages InstaForex.Com

Hong Kong's Trade Deficit Widens In June Hong Kong's merchandise trade deficit increased from last year in June, data released by The Census and Statistics Department showed Tuesday. The trade deficit increased to HK$44.705 billion in June from HK$40.261 billion in the same month last year. Economists were looking for a shortfall of HK$39.5 billion. Export of goods decreased 4.8 percent year-on-year to HK$278.228 billion in June. The value of re-exports decreased by 4.7 percent annually, while domestic exports fell by 10.3 percent. Compared to May, overall shipments were lower by 5.5 percent during the month. The value of imports declined by 2.9 percent annually to HK$322.932 billion during the month. Month-on-month, arrivals decreased 2.2 percent in June. In the first half of 2012, the value of total exports of goods edged up 0.3 percent compared to the same period last year, while imports increased by 1.4 percent, data showed. Больше FOREX-новостей на страницах InstaForex.Com

Japan Govt: To Work Decisively With BoJ To Address Deflation, Yen Appreciation The Japanese government on Monday vowed to work "decisively" with the Bank of Japan to prevent the adverse impacts of yen appreciation and deflation on the economy. "The government will also make an utmost effort to prevent the economy from falling into vicious cycle between yen appreciation and deflation," the government said in a monthly report published by the Cabinet Office. "The government will decisively work together with the Bank of Japan toward the exit from deflation which is the biggest challenge of Japanese economy in the short term," the report said. Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda held talks with Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa in Tokyo earlier on Monday as the yen gained further ground against euro amid worries over Spanish banking sector despite Eurogroup's approval of the bailout deal last week. The euro fell below JPY 95 in Asian trade on Monday to its weakest level since November 2000. Meanwhile, Finance Minister Jun Azumi reportedly said that he is watching the currency moves closely and will take decisive steps to counter excessive yen gains. Toward defeating deflation, reforming the economic structure predisposed to deflation is essential along with appropriate macroeconomic policy management, the government said in the monthly report. Accordingly, it will deploy a broad range of policy measures intensively by fiscal 2013 "to mobilize goods, people, and money." The government said it expects the central bank to continue powerful monetary easing until the economy exits deflation. The BoJ has set an inflation target of 1 percent. According to the report, movements toward sound economic recovery in the Japanese economy are expected to take hold in the short-term due to reconstruction demand. However, there are widespread concerns about further slowdown of overseas economies and a high degree of uncertainty persists about the prospects of the Eurozone debt crisis. The report noted that these circumstances, including negative effects that could stem from sharp fluctuations in the financial markets are downside risks to the Japanese economy. Constraints of electric power supply is another risk to the outlook, it said. More FOREX-news on pages InstaForex.Com

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European Economics Preview: U.K. Public Finance Data Due Public finances from the U.K. and producer prices from Germany are the major reports due on Friday, headlining a light day for the European economic news. At 2.00 am ET, Germany's producer prices for June are due. Producer price annual inflation is seen easing to 1.8 percent in June from 2.1 percent in May. On a monthly basis, producer prices are expected to drop 0.2 percent. France's leading index for May is due from the Conference Board at 4.00 am ET. The leading index fell 0.1 percent, while the coincident index remained flat in April. At 4.30 am ET, the Office for National Statistics is set to publish U.K. public finances for June. Public sector net borrowing is seen at GBP 13.4 billion compared to GBP 17.9 billion in May. Poland's net consumer prices for June are due at 8.00 am ET. Net annual inflation is expected to rise to 2.4 percent from 2.3 percent in May. Later today, Eurozone finance ministers will meet in Brussels to discuss Spanish bank bailout. Ministers are expected to sign an agreement on the proposed financial assistance to recapitalize Spain's troubled banks. More FOREX-news on pages InstaForex.Com

ADB Says Emerging Asia Needs Closer Ties To Offset Risks Of Economic Integration Developing Asian economies need more co-operation to counter the risks emanating from economic and financial integration, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said in a report on Thursday. In its new report titled Asian Economic Integration Monitor, the lender said close integration speeds up the transmission of a crisis in one country to another as has been seen recently in Europe. In addition, greater integration may increase the income inequalities within countries even as it reduces the inequalities between countries. With integration rising and set to continue in Asia, the region's governments need to cooperate more to offset these risks, the report said. "Developing Asia's strong economic growth is in large part due to increased economic and financial ties within the region but greater integration can bring contagion and other risks and we must address those threats through closer cooperation," said Iwan Azis, Head of ADB's Office of Regional Economic Integration. To offset the risks from greater integration, ADB proposed a number of measures to be implemented by Asian governments, including strengthening safety nets like the swap arrangements, building more transport links and improving its policy, regulatory and institutional frameworks. Meanwhile, it noted that internationalizing the renminbi is likely to boost regional cooperation and integration, particularly in East and Southeast Asia. The report said that the external environment for Asia has worsened given Europe's continuing sovereign debt and banking crisis, and the weak US economic recovery. Destabilizing capital flows and a larger-than expected slowdown in China are also major risks to the region's economic outlook. ADB forecasts developing Asia to grow 6.6 percent in 2012 and 7.1 percent in 2013. More FOREX-news on pages InstaForex.Com

European Economic Preview: BoE Minutes, U.K. Claimant Count Due The minutes of Bank of England's monetary policy meeting and U.K. claimant count figures are due on Wednesday. At 3.00 am ET, Czech producer price data is due. Economists forecast producer price inflation to remain at 1.7 percent in June. At 4.30 am ET, the Bank of England is scheduled to release the minutes of the Monetary Policy Committee meeting held on July 4 and 5. The central bank raised its quantitative easing by GBP 50 billion to GBP 375 billion and retained its record low 0.50 percent interest rate at its July meeting. In the meantime, the Office for National Statistics is set to publish U.K. claimant count data for June. The number of people claiming jobseeker's allowance is forecast to increase by 5,000. The jobless rate for three months to May is seen at 8.2 percent. Switzerland's ZEW investor confidence survey results and Italy's current account reports are due at 5.00 am ET. Germany plans to sell zero percent Federal Treasury notes maturing on June 2014. The results of the auction are due at 5.30 am ET. At 8.00 am ET, Poland's industrial output and producer prices are due. Industrial production is expected to grow 4.1 percent annually, following a 4.6 percent rise in May. Producer price inflation is seen slowing to 4.7 percent from 5 percent a month ago. More FOREX-news on pages InstaForex.Com

Japan's Azumi: Speculation Driving Yen Gains Japan's Finance Minister Jun Azumi said Tuesday that speculative moves are pushing up yen and the currency gains do not reflect the country's economic fundamentals. Speculative moves mainly influenced by weak outlook for the U.S. economy is driving the currency higher, Azumi was quoted as saying. He said the government is closely watching the developments. Rapid appreciation of yen could hurt the economy and therefore, the Ministry will take decisive measures, if needed, he added. More FOREX-news on pages InstaForex.Com

Wen Warns China's Economic Woes May Continue For Some Time China's economic recovery is yet to gain momentum and the economic strains may continue for some more time, Premier Wen Jiabao has warned, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday. The country's economic recovery is not yet stable and economic hardships may continue for a period of time, he said during an inspection tour in southwest Sichuan province over the weekend. The Chinese economy expanded 7.6 percent in the second quarter, marking the weakest growth rate since the first quarter of 2009. In the second half of the year, the government will increase efforts to fine-tune its policies and make policies more targeted and effective, Wen said. A meeting of the State Council this week is widely expected to churn out policies for the second half. Wen have been calling for further fine-tuning of the country's policies to stabilize growth after indicators continued to point to weaker economic performance ahead. The State Council had earlier warned the economy is currently facing "increasing downward pressure." The Premier noted that the economy is running at a slower, but more stable pace. The economic growth rate is still within the government target range set early this year and the stabilization policies taken by the government are working, he added. China's economic fundamentals remain sound and the country still enjoys huge growth potential, Wen said. However, concerns remain over the economy's ability to sustain its growth momentum. On July 5, the People's Bank of China unexpectedly reduced the interest rate for a second time in less than a month. The bank has cut the reserve requirement rate three times since November last year. The Asian Development Bank last week cut China's growth forecast for 2012 to 8.2 percent from 8.5 percent citing a fall in exports, industrial output and investment. The lender also lowered the 2013 growth projection to 8.5 percent from 8.7 percent. More FOREX-news on pages InstaForex.Com

BoJ: Economic Activity Picking Up Moderately The Bank of Japan on Friday said that the economic activity has started to pick up moderately amid firm domestic demand. The central bank, in its monthly report, noted that public investment as well as business fixed investment continued to increase. Private consumption also continued to increase moderately due to the effects of measures to stimulate demand for automobiles. According to BoJ, housing investment has generally been rising. Exports have shown signs of a pick-up. Production also started to increase moderately albeit with some fluctuations. "Under these circumstances, business sentiment has been improving moderately particularly in domestic demand-oriented sectors," the central bank said. As for the outlook, Japan's economy is expected to return to a moderate recovery path as domestic demand remains firm and overseas economies emerge from the deceleration phase. "Overseas economies have shown some, albeit moderate, improvement, but on the whole still have not emerged from a deceleration phase," the bank noted. At the same time, there remains a high degree of uncertainty about the global economy. Particular attention should be given to developments in global financial markets associated with the European debt problem, BoJ said. The year-on-year rate of change in the CPI is expected to remain at around zero for the time being. The BoJ has set a 1 percent target for inflation this year. More FOREX-news on pages InstaForex.Com

European Economics Preview: Eurozone Industrial Output Data Due Industrial production from Eurozone and monthly bulletin from the European Central Bank are the major reports due on Thursday. At 1.30 am ET, the French statistical office Insee is slated to release annual inflation data for June. Annual inflation is seen falling to 1.9 percent in June from 2 percent in May. EU harmonized inflation is forecast to fall to 2.2 percent from 2.3 percent. At 2.00 am ET, Destatis is scheduled to publish German wholesale price data for June. Wholesale prices were down 1.7 percent year-on-year in May. Dutch retail trade and trade balance figures are due at 3.30 am ET. In the meantime, Sweden's average consumer price data is also due. Half an hour later, the European Central Bank is set to issue monthly bulletin. The bank last week lowered its main refi rate by 25 basis points to 0.75 percent. At 5.00 am ET, Eurostat is scheduled to release industrial output for May. On a monthly basis, Eurozone output is expected to remain flat after falling 1.1 percent in April. Annually, production is forecast to fall 3.2 percent. In the meantime, results of Italy's debt auction are due. The government aims to raise about EUR 7.5 billion from 12-month BOT auction. More FOREX-news on pages InstaForex.Com

European Economics Preview: Germany's Final Inflation Data Due Final consumer price inflation from Germany is the only major statistical report due on Wednesday, headlining a light day for the European economic news. At 2.00 am ET, Germany's Destatis is set to release final consumer price figures for June. According to flash estimate, EU harmonized inflation in Germany slowed to 2 percent from 2.2 percent in May. At 2.45 am ET, the French current account figures are due. The current account deficit is seen narrowing to EUR 3.5 billion in May from EUR 4.2 billion in April. The Czech statistical office is slated to release consumer prices for June at 3.00 am ET. Annual inflation is forecast to rise slightly to 3.3 percent from 3.2 percent in May. On a monthly basis, consumer prices are expected to remain flat. In the meantime, Czech unemployment data is due. The rate is seen falling to 8.1 percent in June from 8.2 percent in May. Also, Hungary's consumer price figures are due at 3.00 am ET. Annual inflation is forecast to increase to 5.4 percent in June from 5.3 percent in May. Germany plans to raise as much as EUR 5 billion from 10-year Federal bond auction. The result of the issue is due at 5.30 am ET. More FOREX-news on pages InstaForex.Com

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European Economics Preview: German Industrial Production Due Industrial production data from Germany and producer price figures from the U.K. are the major reports slated for release on Friday, an otherwise light day for the European economic news after a hectic day of stimulus announcements from three major central banks on Thursday. Swedish unemployment data for June is expected at 2 am ET. At 2.45 am ET, French foreign trade data is due. Economists expect the trade balance to post a deficit of EUR 5.5 billion in May. Industrial production figures from Spain, Hungary and Romania are scheduled for release at 3 am ET. At 3.15 am ET, Swiss consumer price data is due. Swedish budget figures are expected at 3.30 am ET. Norwegian statistical office is expected to publish industrial production data for the month of May at 4 am ET. At 4.30 am ET, the Office for National Statistics is scheduled to release the British producer price data for the month of June. Output price inflation is expected to ease to 2.4 percent in June from 2.8 percent in May. German industrial production is due at 6 am ET. Output is forecast to grow 0.2 percent month-on-month in May. However, production on a yearly basis is expected to continue the downward trend, falling 1.2 percent. More FOREX-news on pages InstaForex.Com

European Economics Preview: ECB, BoE Decisions In Focus The European Central Bank and the Bank of England are widely expected to announce monetary stimulus later today. While the ECB is seen resorting to interest rate cuts, the BoE is widely expected to sanction another GBP 50 billion asset purchases. At 3.30 am ET, Statistics Netherlands is slated to release consumer prices for June. Annual inflation was 2.5 percent in May. The Spanish government plans to raise between EUR 2 billion and EUR 3 billion from the auction of 3-year, 4-year and 10-year bond auction. The results are due at 4.30 am ET. In the meantime, French long-term debt auction results are due. The maximum target for the issue is EUR 8 billion. The Federal Ministry of Economy and Technology is scheduled to release Germany's factory orders at 6.00 am ET. Economists forecast orders to remain flat in May after falling 1.9 percent in April. The Bank of England is likely to come up with an additional stimulus of GBP 50 billion. At the end of two-day rate setting meeting, the Monetary Policy Committee is expected to lift the size of asset purchase programme to GBP 375 billion. Also, the nine-member MPC is seen leaving the key interest rate unchanged at a historic low of 0.50 percent. The announcement is due at 7.00 am ET. The European Central Bank is set to announce its decision at 7.45 am ET. ECB President Mario Draghi is likely to reduce the main refinancing rate by 25 basis points to 0.75 percent. More FOREX-news on pages InstaForex.Com

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EU Leaders Agree To Recapitalize Banks Directly Through Rescue Fund The European leaders meeting in Brussels for a two-day summit have agreed to make use of Eurozone's bailout funds to recapitalize the region's banks directly once an effective single supervisory mechanism is established, relieving the governments of the burden of bailing out troubled lenders. The European Commission will present proposals for a single supervisory mechanism soon. "We ask the Council to consider these Proposals as a matter of urgency by the end of 2012," the leaders said in a statement on Friday. "We affirm that it is imperative to break the vicious circle between banks and sovereigns," the statement read. The leaders also discussed ways to reduce the high borrowing costs faced by Spain and Italy. European Council President Herman Van Rompuy said the permanent bailout fund, the European Stability Mechanism, or ESM, will not gain a senior creditor status when it takes over the loans granted to Spain for its ailing banks from the European Financial Stability Facility, or EFSF. The summit urged rapid conclusion of the Memorandum of Understanding attached to the financial support to Spain for the recapitalisation of its banking sector. The financial assistance will be provided by the EFSF and once the ESM becomes available, it will then be transferred to the permanent fund. The decision to recapitalize banks directly through rescue funds emerged after strong words from leaders, particularly Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti along with Spanish PM Mariano Rajoy, who advocated more steps to reduce their countries' borrowing costs. French President Francois Hollande threw his weight behind Spain and Italy, while German Chancellor Angela Merkel finally gave in to the pressure after her fierce resistance to direct bank aid at the start of the summit. The leaders vowed to use the rescue funds "in a flexible and efficient manner" to ensure the financial stability of the euro area. They welcomed the European Central Bank's decision to serve as an agent to the European Financial Stability Facility and later to the European Stability Mechanism, when it comes into force, in conducting market operations. The EU vested on the Eurogroup the responsibility of implementing the decisions made at the summit by July 9, 2012. Earlier during the summit, the leaders approved a 120 billion-euro package to promote growth in the debt-stricken Eurozone as well as across the broader 27-nation European Union. The growth package includes a 10 billion euro capital boost for the European Investment Bank. It also redirects 60 billion euros of unused structural funds to help small enterprises and create youth employment in most needy countries. The package also calls for launching EU project bonds worth 4.5 billion euros for infrastructure improvements focusing on energy, transport and broadband. The growth plan approved also includes tax-policy pledges and more focused use of EU funding. Earlier this week, the EU unveiled a report containing proposals for securing the stability of the Union, which recommends enforcing tighter fiscal integration with budget controls across the Eurozone and establishing a European banking union. The proposed measures enhance the existing power the European Union has over the fiscal policies of the member-states. Critics, however, have raised concerns the report does not contain any suggestion to address the current debt problems faced by eurozone members. More FOREX-news on pages InstaForex.Com

New Zealand Trade Deficit NZ$301 Million In May New Zealand posted a seasonally adjusted merchandise trade surplus of NZ$301 million in May, Statistics New Zealand said on Thursday, representing 6.8 percent of exports. The headline figure topped forecasts for a surplus of NZ$300 million following the downwardly revised NZ$335 million surplus in March (originally called NZ$355 million). It also follows surpluses of $906 million in May 2009, $770 million in May 2010 and $550 million in May 2011. Exports were down 4.4 percent on year to NZ$4.42 billion, beating expectations for NZ$4.06 billion after coming in at a downwardly revised NZ$3.87 billion in the previous month. By category, exports of meat and edible offal, logs, wood, and wood articles, and dairy products all declined in May 2012, as they did in April 2012. The trends for those commodities, which reflect how values change over time, have been falling for at least six months. "New Zealand's top three export commodity groups were all down in May 2012, which is consistent with their recent trends," industry and labor statistics manager Neil Kelly said in a release accompanying the data. "Those falls in commodity values meant the trade surplus was lower than in the previous three May months." Imports added an annual 1.1 percent to NZ$4.11 billion versus forecasts for NZ$3.80 billion after showing NZ$3.53 billion a month earlier. Imports of capital and consumption goods increased, while imports of intermediate goods were down. Year to date, the trade deficit is NZ$805 million (1.7 percent of exports), shy of forecasts for a shortfall of NZ$790 million after coming in at a downwardly revised NZ$557 million in April. Upon the release of the data, the New Zealand dollar edged down against major rivals, trading near 0.7903 against the U.S. dollar, 62.84 versus the yen, 1.2738 against the Australian dollar and 1.5820 versus the euro. More FOREX-news on pages InstaForex.Com

European Economics Preview: German GfK Consumer Confidence Data Due Consumer sentiment from Germany and public sector finance from the U.K. are the major reports due on Tuesday. At 2.00 am ET, Germany's GfK consumer confidence survey results are due. The forward-looking index is seen falling to 5.6 in July from 5.7 points in June. In the meantime, Finland's unemployment and Swiss UBS consumption indicator reports are due. The French statistical office Insee is scheduled to release consumer confidence survey results at 2.45 am ET. The confidence index is forecast to drop slightly to 89 in June from 90 in May. Sweden's producer prices and Dutch final GDP reports are due at 3.30 am ET. Swedish producer price inflation is seen at 0.6 percent, compared to a flat rate in April. Italy's statistical office Istat is set to publish retail sales for April. Retail sales are expected to fall 0.6 percent month-on-month, following a 0.2 percent drop in March. The Office for National Statistics is slated to issue U.K. public finance figures at 4.30 am ET. Public sector net borrowing for May is seen at GBP 14 billion. In the meantime, Spain's short-term debt auction results are due. The government plans to issue 3-month and 6-month T-bills to raise between EUR 2 billion and EUR 3 billion. More FOREX-news on pages InstaForex.Com

Eurozone's 'Big Four' Agree On Growth Plan Eurozone's four biggest economies have agreed to boost economic growth up to one percent of the region's national output, in their latest effort to ensure the currency bloc's long-term sustainability. The leaders of Germany, France, Spain and Italy vowed to set aside 130 billion euros for measures to support growth. However, they gave no indication of taking up common liabilities such as eurobonds. Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti, who hosted the mini-summit between him, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, French President Francois Hollande in Rome on Friday, suggested that Europe needs a better plan to restore market confidence. The growth package has no new plans but the leaders said they expect more solid measures to be up for discussion at the EU summit next week. The four leaders on Friday agreed to boost the capital of the European Investment Bank by 10 billion euros. Launching "project bonds" to co-finance public investment projects and redirecting unspent cash to European Commission's regional funds were also part of the package. Meanwhile, on Sunday the German government won the approval of the Bundesrat, the upper house of parliament, for Germany's ratification of the EU fiscal compact and the European Stability Mechanism, Europe's permanent bailout fund. More FOREX-news on pages InstaForex.Com

European Economics Preview: Germany's Ifo Business Confidence Data Due Business confidence from Germany is the only major report due on Friday, headlining a light day for the European economic news. EU Finance Ministers will meet in Luxembourg today at 3.00 am ET to discuss financial transaction tax. A press conference will take place at the end of the meeting. Eurozone ministers meeting held on Thursday decided to release the remaining 1 billion euros of the first installment under the second bailout to Greece by the end of this month. Switzerland's KOF institute is slated to release economic forecast at 3.00 am ET. Half an hour later, Statistics Netherlands is scheduled to release consumer spending figures for April. It had declined 2.1 percent in March. The Ifo business confidence is due at 4.00 am ET. The German business confidence index is seen easing to 105.6 in June from 106.9 in May. At the same time, the current conditions index is forecast to drop to 112 from 113.3 in the previous month. In the meantime, Italy's consumer confidence survey results are due. Economists expect the consumer sentiment index to fall to 86 in June from 86.5 in May. The leaders of Germany, France, Spain and Italy are set to hold a meeting in Rome later today. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is likely to resist calls from French President Francois Hollande and Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti for less stringent Eurozone fiscal policies. More FOREX-news on pages InstaForex.Com

ECB's Coeure Says EFSF Can Be Used To Ease Tensions On Secondary Markets Eurozone's rescue fund is big enough to ease temporary tensions on the secondary markets, European Central Bank Executive Board Member Benoit Coeure said in an interview to the Financial Times. "It is big enough for the purpose for which it was created, which is to alleviate temporary tensions on secondary markets," he said while responding to a query. The policy maker said the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) was allowed to undertake secondary market interventions almost a year ago but the "governments have not yet chosen to use that possibility." Italy and France recently floated the idea of the bailout fund buying Eurozone sovereign bonds, especially debts of countries like Italy and Spain, which are facing very high borrowing costs. However, German Chancellor Angela Merkel denied that she had knowledge of any such discussions. Coeure said euro area bond markets are under very severe strain at the moment, in particular, the market for Italian bonds and for Spanish bonds. " It is entirely an issue for governments to decide on, it's not really something the ECB can fix," he said. "Current circumstances would probably warrant EFSF intervention in the secondary market - provided that this happens against the right background of political decisions and solutions to the underlying issues and strong conditionality," Coeure told FT. "The EFSF is not big enough to finance permanently euro area countries. This is not the purpose it was created for, he told the newspaper. Responding to another question on the possibility of an interest rate reduction, the policy maker said a rate cut was discussed at the previous governing council meeting and the next council may also discuss it. He noted that at present, there is no threat to medium term price stability. Referring to the ECB's Long-Term Refinancing Operations (LTRO), the policymaker said a third LTRO is possible. "But it would probably be warranted only in the face of generalised liquidity challenges and it is probably not the best instrument in the case of localised difficulties for banks." Coeure said fiscal union is a "necessity" and urged countries to take steps for fiscal union if they want to keep the euro and the benefits that the euro has brought to their economies. More FOREX-news on pages InstaForex.Com