London Metal Exchange technical glitch hits warehouse stocks report

 The London Metal Exchange (LME) said on Monday technical problems were affecting some market data reports, including warehouse stocks.

The LME said in a statement that all other systems, including those for trading, matching and warrant management were fully operational.

A daily report showing the movement of warehouse inventories was due to be issued at 0800 GMT. The exchange, owned by Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd <0388.HK>, did not say when it expected to resolve the problems.

US Aluminum shipments rise 9.8% in April '14, inventories up: MSCI

The latest released statistics by the Metals Service Center Institute (MSCI) indicate that the aluminum shipments from the US and Canada were up during April this year in comparison with the same month a year ago.

According to data released by MSCI, the total aluminum shipments from various US service centers in April this year totaled 139,500 mt, which is 9.8% higher than the shipments recorded during same month the previous year.

The total aluminum shipments from the US during the first four months of the year 2014 amounted to 533,600 mt. The shipments during this period are up 10.1% in comparison with the shipments during the corresponding four-month period in 2013.

The current aluminum inventories of US are at 391,700 mt at the end of April, higher by 6.7% in comparison with the aluminum inventory levels in April 2013.

As per MSCI data, the total aluminum products shipment by Canada through various service centers amounted to 13,400 mt during the month of April this year. This is 6.6% higher when compared to the shipments during April 2013.

The total aluminum shipments from Canada during the first four months of the year 2014 amounted to 52,700 mt. The shipments during this period are marginally higher by 0.5% in comparison with the shipments during the same period in 2013.

The current aluminum inventories of Canada are at 39,500 mt at the end of April, up by 6.6% in comparison with the aluminum inventory levels in April 2013.

Weekly Economic Data for the week 17-May-14 to 23-May-14

Exp.:	Expected or Anticipated value calculated from the recent survey conducted.
Prior:	Represents the last actual for each indicator. In case there is a revision to the last actual, the prior column reflects the prior figure as revised.
Exp. change today:	Exp. - Prior
Avg. change of last 1 year:	Average Change in Actual data calculated for last 1 year.
Expected impact on price:	This indicator shows the effect of the anticipation of data on the prices of related country’s major indices. We have categorized it as below: Very Good Good Neutral Bad Very Bad
Actual:	Refers to the actual/latest figures after its release.

Data for the week 17-May-14 to 23-May-14

Date	Time (IST)	Country	Data	Exp.	Prior	Exp. chg today	Avg. chg of last 1 year	Exp. Impact on Price
19-May-2014	08-00 PM	Germany	Merkel Gives Speech at Carl Zeiss Foundation in Jena					Neutral
19-May-2014	09:40 PM	United States	Fed's Williams and Fisher to Discuss Monetary Policy in Dallas					Neutral
20-May-2014	02-00 PM	United Kingdom	Consumer Price Index (MoM)	0.30%	0.20%	0.10%	0.00	Neutral
21-May-2014	--	Japan	Bank of Japan Monetary Policy Statement					Neutral
21-May-2014	08-30 AM	Japan	BOJ Governor Kuroda Press Conference After Rate Decision					Neutral
21-May-2014	--	Japan	BOJ 2014 Monetary Base Target	¥270T	¥270T	0.00	0.00	Neutral
21-May-2014	02-00 PM	United Kingdom	Bank of England Releases Minutes from May 7-8 Meeting					Neutral
21-May-2014	07-30 PM	European Monetary Union	EC - Consumer Confidence	-8.3	-8.6	0.30	1.04	Neutral
21-May-2014	08-00 PM	United States	EIA Crude Oil Stocks change	--	0.94	-0.94	3.45	Neutral
21-May-2014	08-30 PM	United States	Fed's Yellen Gives New York University Commencement Speech					Neutral
21-May-2014	11-30 PM	United States	Fed Releases Minutes from April 29-30 FOMC Meeting
22-May-2014	07-15 AM	China	HSBC China Manufacturing PMI	48.3	48.1	0.20	0.97	Neutral
22-May-2014	02-00 PM	United Kingdom	GDP QoQ	0.8%	0.8%	0.00%	0.28	Neutral
22-May-2014	06-50 PM	Germany	Merkel Holds Speech at German Construction Industry Congress					Neutral
22-May-2014	07-30 PM	United States	Existing Home Sales	4.68M	4.59M	0.09M	0.16	Neutral
22-May-2014	08-00 PM	United States	EIA Natural Gas Storage change	--	105	-105.00	33.60	Neutral
23-May-2014	01-30 PM	Germany	IFO - Business Climate	110.9	111.2	-0.30	0.00	Neutral
23-May-2014	07-30 PM	United States	US-New Home Sales	0.42M	0.38M	0.04	0.01	Neutral

USD/JPY forecast for Monday

During Friday’s trading session USD/JPY traded within the range of 101.36-101.67 and closed at 101.52, losing 0.05% on a daily basis and 0.33% for the week.

Fundamental view

Japanese Machine Orders probably increased 4.2% in March on annual basis and 6.0% on a monthly basis, according to the median estimate by experts. In February compared to January orders declined 8.8%, while in February this year compared to February 2013 there was an increase by 10.8%. The indicator gauges the total value of machinery orders, placed at major manufacturers in the country. It is regarded as a leading indicator of business capital spending. An increase indicates that business confidence in Japan probably improved, while a decrease reflects a weaker confidence. In case Machine Orders increased more than projected, this would have a bullish effect on the yen. Japan’s Cabinet Office is to release the official data at 23:50 GMT on May 18th.

In case USD/JPY manages to breach the first resistance level at 101.68, it will probably continue up to test 101.83. In case the second key resistance is broken, the pair will probably attempt to advance to 101.98.

If USD/JPY manages to breach the first key support at 101.35, it will probably continue to slide and test 101.21. With this second key support broken, the movement to the downside will probably continue to 101.05.

World's Biggest Exporters Of Weapons Or Arms

One glance at the following chart prepared by the Economist, showcasing the world's largest importers of weapons, and more importantly, exporters, and one could almost imagine why both the US and Russia have an interest in a "contained" (or not so much) regional war...

Some more insight:

Five countries—America, Russia, Germany, China and France—accounted for three-quarters of international arms exports over the past five years. China tripled its share in that time, overtaking France. It is on track to surpass Germany to become the third-largest arms dealer. Business is brisk. Overall, sales between 2009 and 2013 were 14% higher than the previous five-year period, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, which tracks the arms trade. China sells to 35 mainly low- and middle-income countries, but is also a big importer (two-thirds of its weapons come from Russia). America exports to over 90 nations, with aircraft making up most of its sales. Russia exports more ships than any other country. Its weapons exports have significantly increased, thanks in part to being India's biggest supplier, accounting for three-quarters of its arms purchases. As for Ukraine, it exports more weapons than Italy or Israel. But with regional tensions flaring, it may choose to keep some of those arms for itself.

Source: Economist

World Commodities Exports Map

Using data from the CIA Factbook, we labeled every country in the world by its highest valued export, a.k.a. the commodity that makes the country the most money in the global market. Click on any of the maps below to see an enlarged version. 

Unsurprisingly, much of the world runs on oil, particularly the Middle East and Central Asia. Europe is the world's workshop, where most of the machinery and motor vehicles are made, from optical instruments to BMWs. Latin America brings a blend of food products and oil to the trading table. Asia is the world's manufacturing center, where the world's clothing, wood products, and semiconductors are made. Africa is extremely rich in natural resources, particularly precious metals and oil. Australia makes the most money from coal.  A substantial part of the continent makes its money on diamonds, gold or oil. Source globalpost.com by Simran Khosla

World Currency Symbols