The month of May ends with heavy losses for the Asian markets. The Nikkei is falling today by 1 percent and the recrudescence of the European crisis has affected both markets and currencies, with a further loss of the euro, not only against the dollar.
The stormy atmosphere on the stock markets is quantified in the heaviest monthly loss of the regional index since the acute days of the crisis, in 2008. In Japan, industrial production rose only marginally and less than expected. After the heavy closures on Wall Street, futures signal stable levels – even for the Footsie – for today.
In the currency field, it should be noted that the currencies of some emerging countries, from Indonesia to Brazil, which still appreciated three months ago and recorded interventions by their respective central banks to contain the appreciation, now find themselves in the opposite situation: the decline against dollar is likely to stoke inflation. The Brazilian central bank uses a double strategy: it has lowered rates to 8,5% while using the 'currency swap' weapon to keep the exchange rate under control.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-31/asian-stocks-head-for-worst-mont-since-2008-treasuries-gain.html
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-30/intervention-from-rupee-to-real-shows-focus-on-inflation-fight.html
