Another bad day on the markets. Wall Street's disappointing close has widened into Asia and all magnitudes are in retreat. The culprit, as usual, is the lack of progress in the European crisis. Stock markets are bad, oil drops to 95 dollars (which is good for those who consume it, but bad because it reveals a weak tone in the world economy), long-term rates go down (they too sense a slowdown) and the euro is always below 1.30. MSCI Asia Pacific regional index posts another -1.5%, while signs of a slowdown are multiplying in China, Korea and Japan (the Tankan index fell more than expected).
What's more the trend of the Chinese currency is worrying, which shows clear signs of wanting to depreciate to counter the slide in exports. Quotations closest to a futures market for the yuan – non-deliverable forwards traded in Hong Kong have fallen for eight consecutive days, which has not happened for ten years now.
Read also Bloomberg
