Dollar stands tall after dovish Draghi pressures euro
The dollar stood tall in Asian trading on Friday, on track for a weekly gain against a basket of currencies, as the euro wallowed at seven-month lows after the European Central Bank doused speculation that it would taper its stimulus.
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback against six major rivals, was up 0.2 percent at 98.476 .DXY, up 0.5 percent for the week and near a session high of 98.564, its loftiest peak since March 10.
The euro fell to its lowest since March after Mario Draghi signaled Thursday quantitative easing won’t come to an “abrupt” end, leaving traders waiting until at least December for news about policy changes.
The euro slipped 0.2 percent to $1.0907 EUR=, poised to shed 0.6 percent for the week after plumbing $1.0891 earlier on Friday, its lowest since March 10.
China September home prices rise at record rate, stretching affordability further
China's new home prices rose in September at the fastest rate on record as buyers rushed to close contracts before new restrictive measures took effect in October.
The boom in sales and prices was evident in mortgage lending, with new housing loans to individuals totaling 475.9 billion yuan in September alone, some 76 percent higher than the same month last year, central bank official Ruan Jianhong said in a news release.
Prices in China's 70 major cities rose 11.2 percent in September from a year earlier, accelerating from a 9.2 percent increase in August, as 64 of them saw year-on-year price gains, a National Bureau of Statistics survey showed on Friday.
September's national price growth was the fastest since the series was started in 2011.
The property market, accounting for around 15 percent of gross domestic product, contributed handsomely to third quarter economic expansion of 6.7 percent.
Hedge Fund Investors Withdrew $28.2 Billion in Third Quarter
Hedge fund investors pulled $28.2 billion from the industry in the third quarter, the most since the aftermath of the global financial crisis, according to Hedge Fund Research Inc.
The net outflows, which amount to 0.9 percent of the industry, are the largest since the second quarter of 2009, the firm said Thursday. Investors redeemed $51.5 billion in the first nine months of the year, even as industry assets rose to a record $2.97 trillion, it said.
The average hedge fund across strategies gained 4.2 percent this year through September. The S&P 500 Total Return Index, which includes reinvested dividends, rose 7.8 percent during the same period.
BOJ Kuroda signals chance of delay in hitting price goal
Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said the central bank may push back the timing for hitting its inflation target at this month's rate review, given underlying weakness in price growth.
Kuroda did not specify how such a delay could affect the BOJ's policy decision, though he stressed that the bank's bond purchases may slow in the future if 10-year bond yields fall well below its target of around zero percent.
Speaking in parliament on Friday, Kuroda said he expects Japan's economic growth to accelerate next fiscal year from the current year as on brightening prospects for global growth.
But he suggested that the recent weakness in core consumer prices, which marked the sixth straight month of annual falls in August, may force the BOJ to cut its inflation forecast at a quarter review of its projections at a Oct. 31-Nov. 1 meeting.
"There may be some modification to our forecast that inflation will hit our 2 percent target during fiscal 2017," Kuroda said.
Oil prices stable as strong dollar weighs, but market tightens
Oil prices were stable on Friday, weighed by a stronger dollar, but supported by signs that physical fuel markets were tightening after two years of ballooning oversupply.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 was trading at $50.59 a barrel at 0652 GMT, down 4 cents from its last settlement.
Reference: Bloomberg, Reuters
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