Stock indices closed mixed after the mostly weaker-than-expected economic data from Eurozone. German preliminary consumer price index dropped 1.0% in January, missing expectations for a 0.7% decline, after a flat reading in December.

On a yearly basis, German preliminary consumer price index decreased to -0.3% in January from 0.2% in December, missing forecasts for a flat reading. That was the lowest level since July 2009.

The number of unemployed people in Germany declined by 8,000 in January, missing expectations for a 13,000 decline, after a 25,000 drop in December. December's figure was revised down from a 27,000 decrease.

Germany's adjusted unemployment rate fell to 6.5% in January from 6.6% in December, in line with expectations. December's figure was revised down from 6.5%.

Eurozone's adjusted M3 money supply rose 3.6% in December, after a 3.1 gain in November.

Investors remained cautious amid concerns over Greece's future policy. Syriza party won the country's parliament elections on Sunday. The party has pledged to renegotiate the terms of the country's €240 billion euro financial bailout and to reverse many of the austerity measures.

Indexes on the close:

Name Price Change Change %

FTSE 100 6,810.6 -15.34 -0.22%

DAX 10,737.87 +26.90 +0.25%

CAC 40 4,631.43 +20.49 +0.44%

The cost of WTI crude oil continued to fall today, while reaching the lowest level in six years, due to an increase in US oil inventories. Meanwhile, the price of Brent crude oil have not changed.

Market participants still analyze yesterday's data from the US Energy Department. Recall commercial oil reserves have increased by 8.9 million barrels - up to 406.7 million barrels. The latter value was the highest for the entire period of statistics with the US Department of Energy in August 1982. Meanwhile, gasoline inventories fell 2.6 million barrels to 238.3 million barrels. Distillate stocks fell by 3.9 million barrels - up to 132.7 million barrels. Utilization rate of refining capacity rose by 2.5 percentage points to 88%. Analysts expected the growth rate by 0.1 percentage points.

The course of trade is also affected by expectations the publication of preliminary data on US economic growth in the fourth quarter. Analysts forecast the US economy expanding by 3.3%

It is worth emphasizing, oil prices fell by almost 60% since June, when the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries refused to reductions in production, while production rates in the US were the highest in the past more than 30 years, creating an increased level of supply in the the world oil market.

However, CEO of Royal Dutch Shell Ben van Bearden believes that oil prices should reach a long-run equilibrium at $ 90 per barrel. However, he said that it is currently impossible to accurately predict when prices return to the level of $ 90. In the medium term, in his opinion, the market should expect high volatility.

Earlier, OPEC Secretary General Abdullah al-Badri expressed the opinion that the price of oil reached the bottom and will soon begin to grow. He noted that the price of a barrel could rise to $ 200 in case of reduction of investment in the industry.

March futures price for US light crude oil WTI (Light Sweet Crude Oil) dropped to 43.84 dollars per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

March futures price for North Sea Brent crude oil mix fell $ 0.04 to $ 48.60 a barrel on the London Stock Exchange ICE Futures Europe.

The U.S. dollar traded higher against the most major currencies after the mixed U.S. economic data. The number of initial jobless claims in the week ending January 24 in the U.S. fell by 43,000 to 265,000 from 308,000 in the previous week.

Pending home sales in the U.S. declined 3.7% in December, missing expectations for a 0.6% increase, after a 0.6% gain in November. November's figure was revised down from a 0.8% rise.

That was the biggest monthly decrease since December 2013.

The euro traded lower against the U.S. dollar. German preliminary consumer price index dropped 1.0% in January, missing expectations for a 0.7% decline, after a flat reading in December.

On a yearly basis, German preliminary consumer price index decreased to -0.3% in January from 0.2% in December, missing forecasts for a flat reading. That was the lowest level since July 2009.

The number of unemployed people in Germany declined by 8,000 in January, missing expectations for a 13,000 decline, after a 25,000 drop in December. December's figure was revised down from a 27,000 decrease.

Germany's adjusted unemployment rate fell to 6.5% in January from 6.6% in December, in line with expectations. December's figure was revised down from 6.5%.

Eurozone's adjusted M3 money supply rose 3.6% in December, after a 3.1 gain in November.

Investors remained cautious amid concerns over Greece's future policy. Syriza party won the country's parliament elections on Sunday. The party has pledged to renegotiate the terms of the country's €240 billion euro financial bailout and to reverse many of the austerity measures.

The British pound declined against the U.S. dollar. The Nationwide Building Society released its house price inflation figures for the U.K. on Thursday. The U.K. house price index increased 0.3% in December, missing expectations for a 0.4% gain, after a 0.2% rise in November.

On a yearly basis, the U.K. house price inflation fell to 6.8% in December from 7.2% in November, beating expectations for a decline to 6.6%.

The New Zealand dollar traded mixed against the U.S. dollar. In the overnight trading session, the kiwi fell against the greenback after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand's (RBNZ) interest decision. The RBNZ kept interest rate unchanged at 3.50%.

New Zealand' trade deficit narrowed to NZ$159 million in December from NZ$285 million in November. November's figure was revised down from NZ$213 million Analysts had expected the trade deficit to decline to NZ$27million.

The Australian dollar traded lower against the U.S. dollar. In the overnight trading session, the Aussie decreased against the greenback in the absence of any major economic reports from Australia.

The Japanese yen traded lower against the U.S. dollar. In the overnight trading session, the yen traded lower against the greenback after the weaker-than-expected retail sales from Japan. Retail sales in Japan rose 0.2% in December, missing forecasts of a 0.9% gain, after a 0.5% increase in November. November's figure was revised up from a 0.4% increase.

Gold prices fell today by more than 1 percent, registering the fourth drop in the past five sessions and reached the lowest level since January 16.

The recent wave of recession gold is associated with an article in the WSJ, according to which, the Fed continues to go to higher rates, balancing the hawk and dove hints. Analyst at Wall Street Journal John Hilsenraf said that the Fed observed a balance between those who want to raise the stakes and those who want to leave them unchanged. In a statement, the Fed has no direct comments regarding the growth of the US dollar, but there are words regarding concerns about the movements in international markets. This is an indication that the Fed is closely monitoring the rate of the national currency. The Fed, in its report states that even though the economy is growing "hard", the committee members see that this growth will be moderate in subsequent periods. In addition, the decline in inflation is characterized by the Committee as a temporary phenomenon. The analyst believes that the Fed is going to raise rates in the middle of the year, although markets value the chance to hike in June only 12%. In his article, the analyst argues that "the committee members see a lot of signals that now contradict each other and come from oil prices, inflation, international markets and bond markets. They obviously do not want to jump the gun with the decision. "

Pressure on prices also provided data on the US labor market. As it became known, initial applications for unemployment benefits fell by 43,000 and reached a seasonally adjusted 265,000 in the week ended Jan. 24. This was the lowest level since April 2000. Economists had expected 300,000 new claims. The fall may be due to a shortened work week due to the holiday of Martin Luther King, an analyst said the Ministry of Labour. The data for the previous week were revised up to 308,000 applications compared with the original 307,000.

Optimistic data added optimism about the economic recovery and increased expectations that the Federal Reserve will begin to raise interest rates sooner than previously predicted. Recall expectations rise in interest rates had a negative impact on the dynamics of the price of gold, as the precious metal can not compete with the earning assets with growth rates.

"Investors have already adapted to the new position of the Fed, and they have no reason to seek to raise the price of gold," - said principal analyst at Wing Fung Financial Group in Hong Kong Mark That.

Meanwhile, Phillip Futures experts say that the Fed will raise rates, prices may fall below $ 1,200 an ounce.

The cost of the February gold futures on the COMEX today fell to 1262.50 dollars per ounce.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) released its pending home sales figures for the U.S. on Thursday. Pending home sales in the U.S. declined 3.7% in December, missing expectations for a 0.6% increase, after a 0.6% gain in November. November's figure was revised down from a 0.8% rise.

That was the biggest monthly decrease since December 2013.

The NAR's chief economist Lawrence Yun said that the drop was partly driven by rising prices and low availability of houses for sale.

Dow 17,196.32 +4.95 +0.03%

Nasdaq 4,641.42 +3.43 +0.07%

S&P 500 2,006.06 +3.90 +0.19%

10 Year Yield 1.76% +0.03 --

Gold $1,270.80 -15.10 -1.17%

Oil $44.85 +0.40 +0.90%

U.S. stock-index futures rose as jobless claims fell to a 15-year low and companies from Ford Motor Co. to Coach Inc. advanced on earnings reports.

Global markets:

Nikkei 17,606.22 -189.51 -1.06%

Hang Seng 24,595.85 -265.96 -1.07%

Shanghai Composite 3,263.73 -42.00 -1.27%

FTSE 6,788.26 -37.68 -0.55%

CAC 4,597.69 -13.25 -0.29%

DAX 10,686.37 -24.60 -0.23%

Crude oil $44.52 (+0.16%)

Gold $1269.50 (-1.28%)

(company / ticker / price / change, % / volume)

Upgrades:

Downgrades:

Other:

Facebook (FB) target raised to $90 from $80 at Cantor Fitzgerald

Facebook (FB) target raised to $90 from $88 at Canaccord Genuity

Facebook (FB) target lowered to $90 from $92 at RBC Capital Mkts

Boeing (BA) target raised to $145 from $141 at RBC Capital Mkts

Ford (F) earned $0.26 per share in the fourth quarter, beating analysts' estimate of $0.23. Revenue in the fourth quarter decreased 5.1% year-over-year to $33.80 billion, missing analysts' estimate of $34.43 billion.

The company released its forecasts for fiscal year 2015. Revenue is expected to be higher than $135.8 billion in fiscal year 2015 (analysts' estimate: $144.88 billion).

According to Ford (F), the company expects to sell 17.0-17.5 million cars in the U.S., 14.8-15.3 million cars in Europe and 24.5-26.5 in China in 2015.

Ford (F) shares increased to $14.67 (+1.45%) prior to the opening bell.

EUR/USD: $1.1100(E378mn), $1.1250(E252mn), $1.1400(E278mn)

USD/JPY: Y116.50($732M), Y117.00($490mn), Y117.65($400mn), Y118.50($2.0bn), Y119.00($2.7bn), Y119.50($886mn)

GBP/USD: $1.5100(stg1.0bn), $1.5250(stg302mn), $1.5400(stg744mn)

EUR/GBP: stg0.7500(E270mn), stg0.7600(E200mn)

NZD/USD: $0.7295(NZ$500mn), $0.7300(NZ$800mn), $0.7450(NZ$250mn), $0.7575(NZ$373mn), $0.7620(NZ$434mn)

Facebook (FB) earned $0.54 per share in the fourth quarter, beating analysts' estimate of $0.48. Revenue in the fourth quarter increased 49.0% year-over-year to $3.85 billion, exceeding analysts' estimate of $3.78 billion.

Facebook (FB) shares decreased to $75.64 (-0.79%) prior to the opening bell.

Economic calendar (GMT0):

(Time/ Region/ Event/ Period/ Previous/ Forecast/ Actual)

00:30 Australia Export Price Index, q/q Quarter IV -3.9% 0.0%

00:30 Australia Import Price Index, q/q Quarter IV -0.8% +0.9%

07:00 United Kingdom Nationwide house price index January + +0.2% +0.4% +0.3%

07:00 United Kingdom Nationwide house price index, y/y January +7.2% +6.6% +6.8%

08:55 Germany Unemployment Change January -25 Revised From -27 -13 -8

08:55 Germany Unemployment Rate s.a. January 6.6% Revised From 6.5% 6.5% 6.5%

09:00 Eurozone Private Loans, Y/Y December -2.7% Revised From -0.9% +3.1%

09:00 Eurozone M3 money supply, adjusted y/y December +3.1% +3.6%

10:00 Eurozone Business climate indicator January 0.15 Revised From 0.2 0.16

10:00 Eurozone Economic sentiment index January 100.8 101.4 101.2

10:00 Eurozone Industrial confidence January -4.0 -4.7 -5.0

11:00 United Kingdom CBI retail sales volume balance January 61 39

13:00 Germany CPI, m/m (Preliminary) January 0.0% -0.7% -1.0%

13:00 Germany CPI, y/y (Preliminary) January +0.2% 0.0% -0.3%

The U.S. dollar traded mixed against the most major currencies ahead of the U.S. economic data.

Pending home sales in the U.S. are expected to climb 0.6% in December, after a 0.8% increase in October.

The euro traded higher against the U.S. dollar after the mostly weaker-than-expected economic data from Eurozone. German preliminary consumer price index dropped 1.0% in January, missing expectations for a 0.7% decline, after a flat reading in December.

On a yearly basis, German preliminary consumer price index decreased to -0.3% in January from 0.2% in December, missing forecasts for a flat reading. That was the lowest level since July 2009.

The number of unemployed people in Germany declined by 8,000 in January, missing expectations for a 13,000 decline, after a 25,000 drop in December. December's figure was revised down from a 27,000 decrease.

Germany's adjusted unemployment rate fell to 6.5% in January from 6.6% in December, in line with expectations. December's figure was revised down from 6.5%.

Eurozone's adjusted M3 money supply rose 3.6% in December, after a 3.1 gain in November.

Investors remained cautious amid concerns over Greece's future policy. Syriza party won the country's parliament elections on Sunday. The party has pledged to renegotiate the terms of the country's €240 billion euro financial bailout and to reverse many of the austerity measures.

The British pound traded mixed against the U.S. dollar after the mixed house prices from the U.K. The Nationwide Building Society released its house price inflation figures for the U.K. on Thursday. The U.K. house price index increased 0.3% in December, missing expectations for a 0.4% gain, after a 0.2% rise in November.

On a yearly basis, the U.K. house price inflation fell to 6.8% in December from 7.2% in November, beating expectations for a decline to 6.6%.

EUR/USD: the currency pair rose to $1.1326

GBP/USD: the currency pair traded mixed

USD/JPY: the currency pair climbed to $118.18

The most important news that are expected (GMT0):

13:30 U.S. Initial Jobless Claims January 307

15:00 U.S. Pending Home Sales (MoM) December +0.8% +0.6%

23:30 Japan Tokyo Consumer Price Index, y/y January +2.1%

23:30 Japan Tokyo CPI ex Fresh Food, y/y January +2.3% +2.2%

23:30 Japan Household spending Y/Y December -2.5% -2.5%

23:30 Japan National Consumer Price Index, y/y December +2.4%

23:30 Japan National CPI Ex-Fresh Food, y/y December +2.7% +2.6%

23:50 Japan Industrial Production (MoM) (Preliminary) December -0.6% +1.3%

23:50 Japan Industrial Production (YoY) (Preliminary) December -3.7%

EUR/USD

Offers $1.1445/60, $1.1400, $1.1380/85, $1.1360-70, $1.1340/45, $1.1320-25

Bids $1.1220, $1.1200

GBP/USD

Offers

Bids $1.5100

AUD/USD

Offers $0.7950, $0.7900, $0.7850

Bids $0.7750, $0.7700, $0.7650

EUR/JPY

Offers Y134.45/50, Y133.80/00, Y133.50

Bids Y132.55/50, Y132.10/00, Y131.50

USD/JPY

Offers Y118.50, Y118.00

Bids Y117.10/00, Y116.95/85, Y116.50

European indices reverse early declines after the upbeat outlook from the FED on the U.S. economy and its plan to hike interest rates this year, repeating its patient approach. Worries over Greece's future in the Eurozone weigh on the markets as the new Prime Minister Alexis Tsirpas sticks to his promises to roll back austerity measures.

Disappointing corporate results from Royal Dutch Shell Plc led energy shares lower.

Earlier today data on German Unemployment Change and Unemployment Rate were released. The Unemployment Rate of the largest economy in the Eurozone was in line with expectations at 6.5% in January compared to revised 6.6% in the previous month. The number of people being unemployed fell by 8,000 compared to forecasts of 13,000.

Eurozone's Private Loans increased by +3.1%, M3 Money Supply rose by +3.6% in December compared to +3.1% in November.

Germany's CPI data is due at 13:00 GMT, followed by U.S. Initial Jobless Claims and Pending Home Sales.

The commodity heavy FTSE 100 index is currently trading -0.58% quoted at 6,786.18 points. Germany's DAX 30 lost -0.01% trading at 10,709.75, almost flat reversing early losses, being quoted below its all-time high at 10,810.57 hit on Tuesday. France's CAC 40 is currently trading at 4,617.44 points, +0.14%.

Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate are trading higher today after moderately decreasing yesterday which was associated with the release of data on oil reserves in the United States, as well as the strengthening of the US dollar. The US Department of Energy announced that commercial oil stocks rose 8.9 million barrels to 406.7 million barrels, compared to the average forecast of four million barrels. The latter value was the highest for the entire period of statistics with the US Department of Energy in August 1982.

Brent Crude added +0.70%, currently trading at USD48.81 a barrel, still below the important USD50 level. On January 13th Crude hit a low at USD45.19. West Texas Intermediate gained +0.18% currently quoted at USD44.53.

Oil prices fell by nearly 60 percent over the past six months, and both key brands of oil are currently trading below $ 50 a barrel as the worldwide supply exceeds demand in a period of low global economic growth and the OPEC refusing to cut output rates to stabilize prices. Smaller OPEC members want to cut production but the organisation, responsible for 40% of worldwide production focuses on its fight for market share.

Gold is trading lower today extending loses from the previous sessions after the FOMC statement. Yesterday the Federal Open Market Committee gave a confident outlook on higher inflation and lower unemployment which can be seen as indication that the FED will stick to its plan on hiking interest rates in 2015 for the first time since 2006. The bank will take "international developments" into account when deciding on the exact timing. All members of the FOMC unanimously backed the statement as solid economic growth fuels optimism despite a stronger dollar and declining oil prices.

Higher interest rates make gold less attractive as the metal is not yield-bearing. A stronger greenback also weighed on the dollar-denominated precious metal as it makes it more expensive for holders of other currencies.

The precious metal is currently quoted at USD1,275.80, -0,72% a troy ounce. On Thursday last week gold reached a five-month high at USD1,307.40.

EUR/USD: $1.1100(E378mn), $1.1250(E252mn), $1.1400(E278mn)

USD/JPY: Y116.50($732M), Y117.00($490mn), Y117.65($400mn), Y118.50($2.0bn), Y119.00($2.7bn), Y119.50($886mn)

GBP/USD: $1.5100(stg1.0bn), $1.5250(stg302mn), $1.5400(stg744mn)

EUR/GBP: stg0.7500(E270mn), stg0.7600(E200mn)

NZD/USD: $0.7295(NZ$500mn), $0.7300(NZ$800mn), $0.7450(NZ$250mn), $0.7575(NZ$373mn), $0.7620(NZ$434mn)

BLOOMBERG

Fed Raises Assessment of Economy While Staying Patient on Rates

(Bloomberg) -- The Federal Reserve boosted its assessment of the economy and played down low inflation while repeating a pledge to stay "patient" on raising interest rates.

The Federal Open Market Committee described the expansion as "solid," an improvement over the "moderate" performance it saw in December. It substituted "strong" for "solid" in its evaluation of job gains after a meeting Wednesday in Washington.

While inflation "is anticipated to decline further in the near term," the FOMC said in a statement, it is likely to rise gradually toward its 2 percent goal "over the medium term" as the impact of low oil prices diminishes. Policy makers also said cheaper energy will help boost consumer buying power.

The Fed's confidence in the outlook for higher inflation and lower unemployment suggests it will stick to plans to raise interest rates this year for the first time since 2006. One caveat: officials will take "international developments" into account when considering an increase, language that contributed to a decline in stocks and Treasury yields.

Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-01-28/fed-raises-assessment-of-economy-while-staying-patient-on-rates

REUTERS

ECB' Coeure tells Greece: stick to 'rules of game' - paper

Jan 29 (Reuters) - The Greek government must continue to respect its commitments, a senior policy maker at the European Central Bank told an Italian newspaper on Thursday.

Responding to a question from Corriere della Sera whether Athens must continue to meet its financial obligations, Benoit Coeure, a member of the ECB's Executive Board, said: "Greece must continue to abide by the rules of the game."

Coeure also spelt out the benchmark of success that will determine the duration of government bond buying by the ECB, a programme that was announced last week.

"It will end only once we get a strong sense that inflation is converging towards 2 percent." (Reporting By John O'Donnell Editing by Jeremy Gaunt)

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/01/29/ecb-policy-greece-idUSL6N0V81KP20150129

BLOOMBERG

Oil Trades Near Six-Year Low Amid Surging U.S. Crude Stockpiles

(Bloomberg) -- Oil traded near the lowest price in almost six years after government data showed U.S. crude stockpiles increased to the highest level since at least August 1982, adding to signs that a global glut will persist.

Futures were little changed in New York after falling 3.9 percent on Wednesday. Crude inventories in the U.S., the world's biggest oil consumer, expanded by 8.87 million barrels to 406.7 million last week, the Energy Information Administration reported. Oil may recover as early as the first half of this year as production is reduced, said Harold Hamm, the chief executive officer of Continental Resources Inc.

Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-01-29/oil-trades-near-six-year-low-amid-surging-u-s-crude-stockpiles

European indices declined in early trading after the FED's upbeat outlook for the U.S. economy and its signal to be on track raising interest rates this year. Worries over Greece's future in the Eurozone weigh on the markets as the new Prime Minister Alexis Tsirpas sticks to his promises to roll back austerity measures. Corporate results in the energy sector also led markets lower. Mining and financial stocks were also under pressure.

Data on German Unemployment Change and Unemployment Rate were released today at 08:55 GMT. The Unemployment Rate of the largest economy in the Eurozone was in line with expectations at 6.5% in January compared to revised 6.6% in the previous month. The number of people being unemployed fell by 8,000 compared to forecasts of 13,000.

Eurozone's Private Loans increased by +3.1%, M3 Money Supply rose by +3.6% in December compared to +3.1% in November.

Germany's CPI data is due at 13:00 GMT, followed by U.S. Initial Jobless Claims and Pending Home Sales.

The commodity heavy FTSE 100 index is currently trading -0.78% quoted at 6,772.93 points. U.K.'s Nationwide House Price Index for January grew below estimates at +0.3%. On a yearly basis the index added +6.8% beating estimates by 0.2%. Germany's DAX 30 declined by -0.71% trading at 10,635.17, further retreating from an all-time high at 10,810.57 hit on Tuesday. France's CAC 40 lost -0.63%, currently trading at 4,581.72 points.

U.S. markets closed lower on Wednesday after the FOMC statement. Yesterday the Federal Open Market Committee gave a confident outlook on higher inflation and lower unemployment which can be seen as indication that the FED will stick to its plan on hiking interest rates in 2015 for the first time since 2006. The bank will take "international developments" into account when deciding on the exact timing. All members of the FOMC unanimously backed the statement as solid economic growth fuels optimism despite a stronger dollar and declining oil prices. As oil slumped energy shares led indices lower. The DOW JONES index lost -1.13% after declining by -1.65% yesterday, closing at 17,191.37 points. The S&P 500 declined by -1.35% with a final quote of 2,002.16 points - just marginally above the psychologically important level of 2,000 points.

Chinese stock markets traded lower on Thursday after Chinese regulators is launching inspections into brokerages that allow margin trading as concerns rise that markets are becoming over-leveraged. Hong Kong's Hang Seng is trading -1.09% at 24,590.38 points. China's Shanghai Composite closed at 3,263.73 points -1.27%.

Japan's Nikkei posted the biggest drop in 14 days on disappointing corporate earnings data and the FOMC statement after reaching monthly highs in yesterday's trading, closing -1.06% with a final quote of 17,606.22.

(Time/ Region/ Event/ Period/ Previous/ Forecast/ Actual

00:30 Australia Export Price Index, q/q Quarter IV -3.9% 0.0%

00:30 Australia Import Price Index, q/q Quarter IV -0.8% +0.9%

07:00 United Kingdom Nationwide house price index January +0.2% +0.4% +0.3%

07:00 United Kingdom Nationwide house price index, y/y January +7.2% +6.6% +6.8%

The U.S. dollar traded mixed against its major peers. Yesterday the Federal Open Market Committee gave a confident outlook on higher inflation and lower unemployment which can be seen as indication that the FED will stick to its plan on hiking interest rates in 2015 for the first time since 2006. The bank will take "international developments" into account when deciding on the exact timing. All members of the FOMC unanimously backed the statement as solid economic growth fuels optimism despite a stronger dollar and slumping oil prices. The dollar gained against the Japanese yen but traded lower against the euro and sterling.

The Australian dollar traded at its weakest since July 2009 as market participants expect that the central bank is likely to cut rates on February 3^rd. Australia's Import Prices rose from -0.8% in the previous quarter by +0.9% in the fourth quarter of 2014. Export Prices for the fourth quarter have a reading of 0.0% compared to -3.9% in the previous period.

New Zealand's dollar halted its fall and declined slightly after trading at the weakest since 2011 on Wednesday slumping by 1.9% on comments of the RBNZ that it's prepared to lower interest rates. The New Zealand central bank held the overnight cash rate steady at 3.5%.

The Japanese yen traded lower against the greenback on Thursday. Japanese Retail sales for the month of December rose by +0.2%, below expectations of an increase by +0.9%. In the previous month Retail Sales rose by 0.4%. A set of economic data is due late in the day including Household Spending, the National CPI and Industrial Production.

EUR/USD: the euro traded slightly stronger against the greenback

(time / country / index / period / previous value / forecast)

08:55 Germany Unemployment Change January -27 -13

08:55 Germany Unemployment Rate s.a. January 6.5% 6.5%

09:00 Eurozone Private Loans, Y/Y December -0.9%

09:00 Eurozone M3 money supply, adjusted y/y December +3.1%

10:00 Eurozone Business climate indicator January 0.2

10:00 Eurozone Economic sentiment index January 100.8 101.4

10:00 Eurozone Industrial confidence January -4.0 -4.7

11:00 United Kingdom CBI retail sales volume balance January 61

13:00 Germany CPI, m/m (Preliminary) January 0.0% -0.7%

13:00 Germany CPI, y/y (Preliminary) January +0.2% 0.0%

13:30 U.S. Initial Jobless Claims January 307

15:00 U.S. Pending Home Sales (MoM) December +0.8% +0.6%

21:45 New Zealand Building Permits, m/m December +10.0%

21:45 New Zealand Visitor Arrivals December +3.1%

23:30 Japan Unemployment Rate December 3.5% 3.5%

23:30 Japan Tokyo Consumer Price Index, y/y January +2.1%

23:30 Japan Tokyo CPI ex Fresh Food, y/y January +2.3% +2.2%

23:30 Japan Household spending Y/Y December -2.5% -2.5%

23:30 Japan National Consumer Price Index, y/y December +2.4%

23:30 Japan National CPI Ex-Fresh Food, y/y December +2.7% +2.6%

23:50 Japan Industrial Production (MoM) (Preliminary) December -0.6% +1.3%

23:50 Japan Industrial Production (YoY) (Preliminary) December -3.7%

EUR / USD

Resistance levels (open interest**, contracts)

$1.1534 (2970)

$1.1464 (3050)

$1.1409 (1417)

Price at time of writing this review: $1.1276

Support levels (open interest**, contracts):

$1.1205 (1668)

$1.1144 (4424)

$1.1070 (2418)

Comments:

- Overall open interest on the CALL options with the expiration date February, 6 is 82105 contracts, with the maximum number of contracts with strike price $1,2100 (6557);

- Overall open interest on the PUT options with the expiration date February, 6 is 75096 contracts, with the maximum number of contracts with strike price $1,1700 (6682);

- The ratio of PUT/CALL was 0.92 versus 0.94 from the previous trading day according to data from January, 28

GBP/USD

Resistance levels (open interest**, contracts)

$1.5401 (551)

$1.5303 (664)

$1.5207 (1079)

Price at time of writing this review: $1.5142

Support levels (open interest**, contracts):

$1.5094 (1840)

$1.4996 (1038)

$1.4898 (1712)

Comments:

- Overall open interest on the CALL options with the expiration date February, 6 is 16794 contracts, with the maximum number of contracts with strike price $1,5150 (1136);

- Overall open interest on the PUT options with the expiration date February, 6 is 17252 contracts, with the maximum number of contracts with strike price $1,5100 (1840);

- The ratio of PUT/CALL was 1.02 versus 1.03 from the previous trading day according to data from January, 28

* - The Chicago Mercantile Exchange bulletin (CME) is used for the calculation.

** - Open interest takes into account the total number of option contracts that are open at the moment.

(index / closing price / change items /% change)

S&P/ASX 200 5,552.78 +5.56 +0.10%

SHANGHAI COMP 3,306.54 -46.42 -1.38%

HANG SENG 24,852.07 +44.79 +0.18%

FTSE 100 6,825.94 +14.33 +0.21%

CAC 40 4,610.94 -13.27 -0.29%

DAX 10,710.97 +82.39 +0.78%

Dow -189.67 17,197.54 -1.09%

Nasdaq -43.51 4,637.99 -0.93%

S&P -27.08 2,002.47 -1.33%

(pare/closed(GMT +2)/change, %)

EUR/USD $1,1287 -0,82%

GBP/USD $1,5137 -0,38%

USD/CHF Chf0,9049 +0,24%

USD/JPY Y117,54 -0,28%

EUR/JPY Y132,67 -1,09%

GBP/JPY Y177,89 -0,67%

AUD/USD $0,7886 -0,62%

NZD/USD $0,7316 -1,85%

USD/CAD C$1,2534 +1,09%

(time / country / index / period / previous value / forecast)

00:30 Australia Export Price Index, q/q Quarter IV -3.9%

00:30 Australia Import Price Index, q/q Quarter IV -0.8%

07:00 United Kingdom Nationwide house price index January +0.2% +0.4%

07:00 United Kingdom Nationwide house price index, y/y January +7.2% +6.6%

08:55 Germany Unemployment Change January -27 -13

08:55 Germany Unemployment Rate s.a. January 6.5% 6.5%

09:00 Eurozone Private Loans, Y/Y December -0.9%

09:00 Eurozone M3 money supply, adjusted y/y December +3.1%

10:00 Eurozone Business climate indicator January 0.2

10:00 Eurozone Economic sentiment index January 100.8 101.4

10:00 Eurozone Industrial confidence January -4.0 -4.7

11:00 United Kingdom CBI retail sales volume balance January 61

13:00 Germany CPI, m/m (Preliminary) January 0.0% -0.7%

13:00 Germany CPI, y/y (Preliminary) January +0.2% 0.0%

13:30 U.S. Initial Jobless Claims January 307

15:00 U.S. Pending Home Sales (MoM) December +0.8% +0.6%

21:45 New Zealand Building Permits, m/m December +10.0%

21:45 New Zealand Visitor Arrivals December +3.1%

23:30 Japan Unemployment Rate December 3.5% 3.5%

23:30 Japan Tokyo Consumer Price Index, y/y January +2.1%

23:30 Japan Tokyo CPI ex Fresh Food, y/y January +2.3% +2.2%

23:30 Japan Household spending Y/Y December -2.5% -2.5%

23:30 Japan National Consumer Price Index, y/y December +2.4%

23:30 Japan National CPI Ex-Fresh Food, y/y December +2.7% +2.6%

23:50 Japan Industrial Production (MoM) (Preliminary) December -0.6% +1.3%

23:50 Japan Industrial Production (YoY) (Preliminary) December -3.7%