After the negative closure of Wall Street, the Asian markets also open with a negative sign, but Shanghai, after four days, is back on the rise, albeit modestly: Chinese exports increased more than expected in December, by 9,7% on the year , while imports decreased, probably due to energy goods.
However, the surplus of the last month of the year alone came close to 50 billion dollars, which does not seem very compatible with a change in the development model from one based on exports to one driven by domestic demand. The MSCI Asia Pacific regional index lost 0,4%, with the Nikkei -0,8%.
The strong figure of the day is the umpteenth slide of oil, which, in the early afternoon in Japan, is at 45,3 $/b (46,5 for Brent, with a differential that is now tending to disappear). Linked to the events of crude oil is another slide, that of the ruble, which scores over 63 per dollar.
Slight decline in the euro exchange rate, which goes to 1,185 against the dollar, as well as the yen (118.7). The uncertainty that hovers in the markets favors gold, which climbs to 1236 $/ounce. Futures on Wall Street indices mark +0,2%.
