Forex Marketz Daily Forex News – Fully Markets Update
The Asian and Pacific Rim markets were mostly higher to start the week. Traders are monitoring events in Libya that have closed two large oil fields and the Peoples’ Bank of China (PBOC) left their key loan prime rate unchanged.
In Japan, the Asian benchmark, the Nikkei 225 was up 0.18 percent by the afternoon. In Tokyo, the broader Topix index added half a percent.
The bourse in South Korea, the Kospi composite index gained 0.82 percent. Shares of blue chip Samsung Electronics was up 1.8 percent after the electronics giant announced changes in leadership.
Elsewhere in the Asian region, the Australian ASX 200 was trading up nearly 0.3 percent by lunchtime. Most of the sub-sectors were in the green.
Also in Asia, in Hong Kong, shares on the Hang Seng index lost a fraction of a percent.
In China, the Shanghai composite was up over 0.1 percent and shares on the smaller Shenzhen composite added 0.14 percent.
This morning, China’s central bank, the Peoples’ Bank of China kept their loan prime rate unchanged as well as monetary policy.
Asian Traders Monitor Growing Unrest in Libya
On Sunday, the Libyan National Oil Corporation (NOC) said that two large oil fields in the southwest were starting to close operations after the Libyan National Army closed a key pipeline.
According to a NOC spokesman, if Libyan exports come to a halt for any length of time, storage tanks will start to fill within days. Production will slow down as well. Production will fall from 1.2 million barrels per day to 72K barrels per day.
Summit in Europe Tries to Maintain a Truce
The European Union is holding a summit in Berlin to keep a shaky truce from falling apart. However, these talks are now being overshadowed by this new development.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that the main factions have agreed to a tentative truce over the past week. They are hoping this truce could become a permanent ceasefire. However, today’s blockade is endangering the process of the peace talks.
