BondSquawk

By Maulik Mody – Bondsquawk.com

August 27, 2010

Second quarter economic growth in the U.S. was revised down to 1.6% from a 2.4% growth rate issued last month. This downwardly revised growth rate still came as a slight surprise as economists had estimated a growth of 1.3% for the second quarter. The slowing expansion, after a rate of 3.7% in the first quarter, furthers concerns that the recovery is losing momentum. The GDP numbers and Bernanke’s speech caused markets to fluctuate early in the day.

The component of the GDP that improved since last quarter was consumer spending. The largest contributor to GDP, accounting for almost 70% of the economy, grew at a 2% annual rate, upwardly revised from 1.6% reported earlier. Other major revisions in the components include downward revisions to inventory and exports and an upward revision to imports. The GDP Price Index grew at 1.9% while the US GDP Personal Consumption Core Price Index, which is related to consumer spending excluding food and energy costs, rose 1.1% annually, which was in line with expectations.

Among reports from the Commerce Department, corporate earnings barely managed to post gains after several quarters of profits. Corporate profits rose 4.6% in the second quarter, after a 10.5% increase in Q1. Profits after tax came for the second quarter grew by a marginal 0.1%, compared to the 11.4% growth in the first quarter. Broken down to industry, the financials lost 0.1%, as opposed to 1.6% gains in the first quarter.

In other data releases, consumer confidence in August rose less than forecast. The University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index came in at 68.9, higher than 67.8 for July but below the 69.6 expected by economists. Consumer spending being the largest component of the economy, a drop in consumer confidence is associated can affect the recover the most.

The mixed economic data caused stocks to sway below and above yesterday’s close, while Treasuries fall. The S&P is higher at 1058.51, while Dow Jones bounced back above 10,000 to 10097.97 as of 11:51 A.M. ET. The 10-Yr fell considerably as its yield rallied 15 bp to 2.62%. The Long Bond was last seen at 3.65%, 14 bp higher than yesterday.

August 26, 2010

As concerns about the economic recovery over-shadowed last week’s slightly improved initial jobless claims numbers, government and corporate bonds gained. Demand for safer assets caused stocks to decline. Spreads tightened for the shorter iTB index and widened for the longer as strong demand for 7-Yr notes pushed yields in the far end of the curve lower.

iTB 1-5 Year High Grade Corporate Bond Index

The shorter maturity index pared some of its losses from yesterday, gaining 0.1% to 1080.92. Average yield for the index fell 3 bp to 2.69%. Since the front end of the Treasury yield curve was relatively flat, spreads tightened by a basis point to 1.88%.

The index was lead by Bank of America’s 4.5% bond maturing April 2015. The bond rallied $1.03 or 103 cents in price to 109.83, pushing yields 24 bp lower to 3.50%. Spreads tightened 21 bp to 2.26%.

The disappointment of the day was Transocean’s 5.25% bonds maturing March 2013. The bond shed 21 cents to trade last at 102.37. Yields ended at 4.26%, 9 bp higher than yesterday. Spreads widened 10 bp to 3.64%. As investigation on Deepwater Horizon’s explosion is underway, it was reported today that the Transocean Ltd, the owner of the oil well, skipped scheduled maintenance on a piece of equipment called the blowout preventer, which turned the explosion into an environmental disaster.

iTB 5+ Year High Grade Corporate Bond Index

The longer maturiy index gained today to cut some of its losses from yesterday. The index advanced 0.2% to 1144.61, as yields ended 3 bp lower at 4.03%. Given the rally of longer dated Treasuries pushing yields in the far end of the curve lower, spreads widened by a basis point to 1.80%.

The best performer of the day was Verizon’s 5.5% bonds maturing February 2018. The bond rallied 48 cents to 114.29, as yields declined 7 bp to 3.32%. Spreads tightened by 3 bp to 1.31%.

The worst performer of the day was Altria Group’s 9.25% bonds maturing August 2019. The bond shed 52 cents to 130.98. Yield on the bond fell 6 bp to 4.92%. Spreads widened 10 bp to 2.70%.

To sum up, corporate bonds gained but spreads remained mixed for the indices. Bonds outperformed equities as investors, on growing concerns about the economy, preferred safer fixed income investments.

By Rom Badilla, CFA & Maulik Mody – Bondsquawk

August 26, 2010

Slightly improved economic data failed to improve market sentiments as stocks fell after gaining slightly early in the day. Treasuries rallied after the 7-Yy notes auction saw a strong demand and were sold at a record low yield of 1.989%, ahead of Bernanke’s speech tomorrow at the Fed meeting. The gain in Treasuries pushed yields down from five to 30 years along the curve.

Economic Data

Initial jobless claims for the week ending August 21 fell to 473k people from an upwardly revised 504k in the previous week.  Forecasters expected the number of people filing for first time unemployment benefits to be lower as evident by the Bloomberg’s consensus surveys of 490k people.  While the drop is encouraging especially after last week’s spike to the 500k level, initial claims have mostly hovered between 450k and 475k since the end of last year. The 4-week moving average for initial claims inched up by slightly over three thousand to 486.75k, which is still associated with further job losses as has been the case in prior recessions as opposed to an average of 400k that coincides more with job creation. Hence, today’s outcome should point to a weaker August employment report released next week. Market forecasters are expecting Non-Farm Payrolls for August to show job losses of 106k and the Unemployment Rate to tick higher by a tenth of a percent to 9.6 percent.

In addition, Continuing Claims continue to be volatile for the week ending August 14 as claims decreased 62k to 4.456 million people.  The number of people that continue to access federal assistance was below surveys as forecasters expected 4.495 million people.  Claims should continue its downward trend over the intermediate term as people exhaust their government benefits and reach the 99-week maximum.

Interest Rates

Treasuries gained after the government sold 7-yr notes at a record low yield in the last auction of the week. The yield on the benchmark 10-Yr fell 6 bp to 2.47% as the bond gained. The Long Bond followed suit as yields ended 6 bp lower at 3.51%. The 5-Yr gained lesser comparatively, pushing yields down 3 bp to 1.37%. The 2-yr was flat at the end of the day, yielding 0.52%.

Inflation expectations, as indicated by the yield differential between 10-Yr Treasury and TIPS, widened 2 bp and now stands at 1.57%.

Stocks ended higher across the Atlantic while government bonds were mostly lower. Germany’s 5-yr lost slightly but yield remained flat at 1.22%. France’s 5-Yr was unchanged at 1.55%, while 50yr U.K. Gilts declined, pushing its yield 4 bp higher to 1.62%.

Across the peripherals, yields were mostly higher. Portugal’s 5-Yr bond fell as yields hiked 5 bp to 4.07%. Italy’s 5-Yr bonds lost as yields ended a basis point higher at 2.63%. Greece’s 5-Yr was unchanged as yields ended flat at 12.11%. Spain;s 5-Yr slipped pushing yields 5 bp higher at 2.96%.

Credit Markets

For performance of investment grade corporate bonds, check today’s ITB Corporate Bond Indices.

The spread of the BofA Merrill Lynch U.S. High Yield Mater Index, which tracks high yield corporate bonds, widened by a basis point to end at 6.93% over Treasuries with comparable maturities.

The difference in yield between 30-Year Conventional Mortgage Backed Securities and the 10-Year Treasury narrowed by a basis point to 0.87%.

Across the Capital Markets

Stocks ended lower on increased concerns of the economic recovery. The S&P lost more than its gains from yesterday, shedding 0.77% to 1047.22. NASDAQ was 1.07% lower at 2118.69. The CBOE VIX index gained 2,4% to 27.37.

The dollar index, which measures the performance of the greenback against six major currencies of the world, slipped 0.3% to 82.883. The Euro gained 0.4% against the dollar, to 1.2716. The British Pound appreciated 0.4% to 1.5528.

Gold spot price fell 0.2% to $1237.60. Crude oil spot price appreciated slightly  to 73.11.

By Maulik Mody – Bondsquawk.com

August 26, 2010

Since August 1978, policymakers and market participants from around the world have gathered every year to discuss important economic issues. This year’s conference which is scheduled tomorrow comes at a very critical time as weak economic data has suggested that the recovery is losing momentum. This year’s focus will be the macroeconomic challenges faced by the U.S. and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s speech will be crucial. While investors wait with bated breath for what Bernanke has to say tomorrow, the following is what I hope and expect to hear.

Bernanke is likely to address two main issues tomorrow – the recent deterioration in the economic data & what it implies for the recovery and further steps that the Fed intends to take to improve the outlook of the economy. The way in which tomorrow’s speech will be different from his Congressional testimonies and what also makes me look forward to it is that this meeting will give Bernanke a chance to give a more personal view on the recent developments and its implications for the economy. And with his topic being “The Economic Outlook and The Federal Reserve’s Policy Response”, it could not have been more apt at this time.

Although this conference will allow Bernanke to offer his personal views of the economy, he should choose his words wisely to avoid unwanted implications of his speech. The weak economic data has caused resentment amongst investors and pointed towards a deterioration of recovery. Bernanke might provide a qualitative review of the situation. Among other recent developments, he is likely to talk about the constantly decreasing inflation expectations, in spite of inflation remaining more or less steady at a low rate.

Bernanke might talk about the options that are at the Fed’s disposal, which he had touched upon in July’s meeting. The Fed can either change one of the three interest rates – federal fund rates, discount rate, the rate it pays on bank reserves, or it can alter the size of its balance sheet. Short-term rates are already said to be kept low for ‘an extended period’, and in the last meeting, the Fed decided to avoid its balance sheet from shrinking. He might not commit to taking any steps unless needed, since the last FOMC meeting left some Fed officials opposed to its decision.

I also expect Bernanke to go in detail about its most recent strategy of targeting its securities portfolio. He might talk about why this strategy was adopted instead of other options like tightening policy or a more convention option of targeting federal fund rates. The Fed had proved that it will take forceful measures if needed but by making any drastic changes to its new policy, Securities Portfolio Target (SPT), it can risk heightening fears about economy than alleviating it.

To sum up, I feel that the Fed has targeted its portfolio since it ran out of other options, and Bernanke may try and assure investors that if needed, the Fed will make additive increases to its SPT to ensure that the economy does not slowdown further. At the same time, he might try to convey that although the economy will come out of this, the recovery will be a slow process and that investors should be prepared to face tough times for a longer period.

By Rom Badilla, CFA – Bondsquawk.com

August 26, 2010

Initial jobless claims for the week ending August 21 fell to 473k people from an upwardly revised 504k in the previous week.  Forecasters expected the number of people filing for first time unemployment benefits to be lower as evident by the Bloomberg’s consensus surveys of 490k people.  While the drop is encouraging especially after last week’s spike to the 500k level, initial claims have mostly hovered between 450k and 475k since the end of last year. The 4-week moving average for initial claims inched up by slightly over three thousand to 486.75k, which is still associated with further job losses as has been the case in prior recessions as opposed to an average of 400k that coincides more with job creation. Hence, today’s outcome should point to a weaker August employment report released next week. Market forecasters are expecting Non-Farm Payrolls for August to show job losses of 106k and the Unemployment Rate to tick higher by a tenth of a percent to 9.6 percent.

Initial Jobless Claims & 4-Week Moving Average - Historical Chart

In addition, Continuing Claims continue to be volatile for the week ending August 14 as claims decreased 62k to 4.456 million people.  The number of people that continue to access federal assistance was below surveys as forecasters expected 4.495 million people.  Claims should continue its downward trend over the intermediate term as people exhaust their government benefits and reach the 99-week maximum.

Reaction to today’s economic data is relatively subdued. Yields across the curve are mostly flat from yesterday with the 2-Year trading at 0.52 percent and the 10-Year hovering its recent lows of 2.53 percent.

August 25, 2010

Corporate bonds fell as seen in the iTB Corporate Bond Indices on a day when all bonds of both the indices lost. Credit spreads widened as company issued bonds sold off more than government bonds. Bonds in the longer index fell more on a price basis as compared to its shorter counterpart.

iTB 1-5 Year High Grade Corporate Bond Index

iTB CBI 1-5, which tracks index maturing within 5 years from now, shed 0.2% or 2.13 points to close at 1079.98. Average yield of the bonds comprising the index climbed 6 bp to 2.72%, as spreads widened by a basis point to 189.

In a day when all bonds slipped, the bond which lost the least was General Electric’s 5.00% coupon bonds maturing February 2013. The bond shed 7 cents to trade last at 108.36. Yields ended 3 bp higher at 1.49%, while spreads tightened 2 bp to 0.88%.

The worst performer of the day was BP Plc’s 5.25% bonds maturing November 2013. The bond slumped 46 cents in price to 103.23, pushing yields 15 bp higher to 4.16%. Spreads widened by 10 bp to 3.33%.

iTB 5+ Year High Grade Corporate Bond Index

The index representing the longer end of the spectrum lost 0.4% to 1142.03. The average price of each bond fell 46 cents as yields ended 6 bp higher at 0.46%. Spread to Treasuries with comparable maturities widened 2 bp to 1.79%

The bond that shed the least was American Express’s 6.15% bonds maturing August 2017. The bonds fell 27 cents to 114.28 as its yield climbed 4 bp to 3.81%. Its spread to benchmark government bonds tightened by a basis point to 1.88%.

The worst performer of the day in this index was GE Capital’s 5.625% bonds maturing May 2018. The bond declined in price by 76 cents as yields climbed 11 bp to 4.06%. Spreads widened 6 bp to 1.96%.

Corporate bonds saw a bad day as it sold off more than Treasuries and underperformed equities.

By Rom Badilla, CFA & Maulik Mody – Bondsquawk.com

August 25, 2010

 Treasuries gained and stocks slumped early in the day on weak new home sales and durable goods data. Treasuries lost with yields ending higher after the government auctioned 5-Yr Treasury notes at a record low yield. Stocks overlooked today’s economic data and gained after early losses in the day, ending its 4-day slide. The gain in stocks comes as a surprise, given two straight days of disappointing data from the housing sector.

Economic Data

Today, the U.S. Commerce Department released a report that new orders for manufacturing durable goods improved but well short of market expectations, which provides further evidence that the economy is slowing.  The Durable Good Orders reversed course and improved in July as the Index increased 0.3 percent in July after a revised 0.1 percent fall in the previous month.   The slight increase disappointed market forecasts as economists were expecting a 3.0 percent increase.

Durable Goods ex Transportations declined a massive 3.8 percent in July versus surveys of a monthly increase of 0.5 percent.  The index was revised upward in June from an initial decrease of 0.6 percent to a final increase of 0.2 percent.

New Home Sales for July falls deeper into the abyss by plunging 12.4 percent from the prior month to an annualized figure of 276,000. Today’s release which is the lowest figure recorded in its 47 year history, disappointed surveys as economists expected sales to reach 333,000. The prior month’s figures were revised downward by 15,000 to a final annualized rate of 315,000.

Click here to find out what Lawrence Yun, economist at NAR, has to say about the existing home sales numbers.

Interest Rates

Treasuries ended lower after today’s auction of 5-Yr notes, which sold at a record low yield of 1.374%, smashing the previous low of 1.54% for the December 2008 auctions. Yields ended higher in the front end of the curve, as the Long Bond slipped slightly. The yield on the 30-Yr inched up by a basis point to 3.57%. The 10-Yr fell more as yields pushed up 4 bp to 2.53%. Yields on the 2-Yr ended 3 bp higher at .51%, while the 5-Yr closed at 1.37%, 5 bp above yesterday’s close.

Inflation expectations, as indicated by the yield differential between 10-Yr Treasury and TIPS, widened 3 bp and now stands at 1.55%. The breakeven rate touched its lowest level f the year yesterday at 1.51%.

Across the Atlantic, government bond performance was mixed. Germany’s 5-Yr Bunds were flat at 1.22%, while the 5-Yr French bonds posted slight gains. Its yield slipped by a basis point to 1.55%. 5-Yr U.K. Gilts gained, pushing yields 2 bp lower to 1.58%.

Among the PIIGS nations, yields ended higher as bonds fell. Portugal’s 5-Yr bonds slumped as its yield pushed 14 bp higher to 4.02%. Ireland’s 5-Yr bond yields rallied 26 bp to 4.55%. Italy’s 5-Yr bonds fell slightly in comparison as yields ended 3 bp higher at 2.62%. The yield on 5-Yr Greece bonds gained 39 bp to cross the 12.% mark, now standing at 12.11. Spain’s 5-yr bonds fell as yields climbed 4 bp to 2.91%.

Credit Markets

For performance of investment grade corporate bonds, check today’s ITB Corporate Bond Indices.

The spread of the BofA Merrill Lynch U.S. High Yield Mater Index, which tracks high yield corporate bonds, narrowed by a basis point to end at 6.92% over Treasuries with comparable maturities.

The difference in yield between 30-Year Conventional Mortgage Backed Securities and the 10-Year Treasury narrowed 3 bp to 0.88%.

Across the Capital Markets

Stocks ended higher today as investors gained some appetite for equities. The S&P improved 0.33% from yesterday to end at 1055.33. NASDAQ closed at 2141.54, up 0.84% since yesterday. The CBOE VIX slipped 2.8% to 26.70.

The dollar index, which measures the performance of the greenback against six major currencies of the world, gained 0.1% to 83.226. The Euro gained 0.2% against the dollar, to 1.2659. The British Pound appreciated 0.4% to 1.5458.

Gold spot price increased 0.8% to $1240.05. Crude oil spot price appreciated 1.7% to 72.90.

By Rom Badilla, CFA – Bondsquawk.com

August 25, 2010

Today, the U.S. Commerce Department released a report that new orders for manufacturing durable goods improved but well short of market expectations, which provides further evidence that the economy is slowing.  The Durable Good Orders reversed course and improved in July as the Index increased 0.3 percent in July after a revised 0.1 percent fall in the previous month.   The slight increase disappointed market forecasts as economists were expecting a 3.0 percent increase.

Durable Goods ex Transportations declined a massive 3.8 percent in July versus surveys of a monthly increase of 0.5 percent.  The index was revised upward in June from an initial decrease of 0.6 percent to a final increase of 0.2 percent.

Julia Coronado, Chief Economist for BNP Paribas pointed out the components of today’s numbers reveal a telling story of the U.S. economy.  In her morning email to clients, she stated the following

“Core capital goods orders, which exclude defense and aircraft, fell 8.0% after a 3.6% increase. Shipment of core capital goods, which are the main input for equipment and software investment in GDP, fell 1.5% after a 1.0% gain but are still up 11.8% on a 3-month annualized basis. Thus the report is disappointing, and suggests a slowing in business investment which has been a bright spot in the growth picture. However the numbers are still consistent with a solid gain in equipment and software investment in Q3 2010.”

New Home Sales for July falls deeper into the abyss by plunging 12.4 percent from the prior month to an annualized figure of 276,000. Today’s release which is the lowest figure recorded in its 47 year history, disappointed surveys as economists expected sales to reach 333,000. The prior month’s figures were revised downward by 15,000 to a final annualized rate of 315,000.

New Home Sales - Historical Chart

Furthermore, the supply of homes given the current sales rate increased to 9.1 months from 8 in June. With the increasing amount of supply from today’s figures and existing homes sales released yesterday, coupled with the amount of homes that are still in the foreclosure process (aka “shadow” inventory), it appears that housing pressures will continue for quite some time.

August 24, 2010

Corporate bonds gained as panicked investors opted for a safer asset class compared to equities. The gains however could not keep up with risk free Treasuries as prices of the government securities rallied on increased concerns of the economy. As a result, spreads widened on either side of the spectrum. Corporate bonds outperformed stocks which continued its fall for a fourth consecutive day today.

iTB 1-5 Year High Grade Corporate Bond Index

The short iTB index gained 0.15% or 1.49 points to close at 1082.11 as average bond prices gained by 15 cents. Average yields across the index fell 5 bp to 2.66%. Spreads to Treasuries widened by a basis point to 1.88% as gains failed to match the rally in Treasuries.

The best performer today was Alcoa’s 6.00% bonds maturing July 2013. The bond price gained 1.20 to 109.07. Yields fell 42 bp to 2.71, as spreads tightened 36 bp to 2.04%.

The laggard of the day was Genworth’s 5.75% bonds maturing June 2014. The bond slipped 68 cents to 102.18. pushing yields to 5.11%, 19 bp higher than yesterday. Spreads widened 26 bp to 4.16%.

iTB 5+ Year High Grade Corporate Bond Index

The long iTB index gained 5.36 points or close to 0.4% to 1146.60. Average yield fell 7 bp to 4.00%, but spreads widened 3 bp to 1.78% as the longer end of the Treasury yield curve flattened out today.

The best performer of the day was Wells Fargo’s 5.625% bonds maturing December 2017. The bond rallied in price by 78 cents to 113.35. Yields fell 11 bp to 3.53%, narrowing spreads by 2 bp to 1.57%.

Anadarko Petro’s 6.45% bonds maturing September 2036 lost the most today, as its price fell 93 cents to 114.55. The yield on the bond was 9 bp higher at 7.55% while spread was widened 20 bp to 1.89%.

To summarize, corporate bonds gained on a price basis but credit spreads widened as the yield curve flattened out on increasing concerns of the sluggish economic recovery.

By Rom Badilla, CFA & Maulik Mody – Bondsquawk.com

 August 24, 2010

Stocks slumped today, continuing its decline for a fourth day in a row, as existing home sales for July caused major disappointment in the markets. Treasuries rallied, sending the 2-Yr yields to all time lows during intraday trading. The long end of the curve declined as panicked investors bought long-dated Treasuries. European bonds benefited too on concerns of the recovery, sending yields on benchmark German and U.K. bonds to record lows.

Economic Data

The National Association for Realtors released home sales activity for July, which again was significantly off the mark of economists’ surveys. Existing Home Sales came in at an seasonally-adjusted, annualized level of 3.83 million, a decline of 27.2 percent from the revised prior period figure of 5.26 million. This massive drop, which is the largest plunge on record, disappointed the market as economists were expecting a decrease of 13.4 percent or a sales volume of 4.65 million homes.

Looking beyond the headlines numbers, manufacturing activity fell across the board.  The monthly survey of manufacturers based in the Carolinas, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia, reveals that the New Orders component dropped to 10 this month from 13 in July. The Shipments Index plunged to a reading of 7 from 30 in the prior month. 

Furthermore, the price trends components are stabilizing.  After falling in the prior month, the Prices Paid component increased from an annualized percentage change of 1.59 in July to 2.19 in July.  The Prices Received component remained the same at an annualized percentage change of 1.45.

Click here to find out what Lawrence Yun, economist at NAR, has to say about the existing home sales numbers.

Interest Rates

Treasuries saw increased demand as existing home sales plunged in July. Bond prices hiked as yields collapsed, lead by the longer end of the curve. The yield on the benchmark 10-Yr Treasury note fell 11 bp, crossing the 2.50 mark to 2.49%. The Long Bond rallied, pushing yields down 10 bp to 3.56%. The 2-Yr yield fell 2 bp to 0.46%, and touched its record low level of 0.45% in intraday trading. The yield on the 5-Yr declined 9 bp to 1.32%.

Fueled by weak economic data, disinflation/deflation concerns grew further. Inflation expectations, as indicated by the yield differential between 10-Yr Treasury and TIPS, tightened 5 bp and now stands at 1.52%. Inflation expectation has fallen 28 bp so far this month, starting at 1.80%.

European bonds extended gains as today’s weak economic data sparked concerns about the recovery. Germany’s 5-Yr Bunds gained as yields fell 6 bp to 1.27%. The benchmark 10-Yr yield fell to its lowest level of 2.143%. The French 5-Yr rallied pushing yields 10 1.56% 5 bp lower than yesterday’s close. 5-Yr U.K. Gilts gained the most as yields slumped 8 bp to 1.60%

Across the peripherals, yields were mixed. At 3.88%, Portugal’s bond was mostly unchanged. Ireland 5-Yr bond fell pushing yields 5 bp t 4.29%. The yield on Italy’s 5-Yr bond gained 4 bp to 2.59%. Greece’s 5-yr fell the most as yields rallied 10 bp to 11.72% while Spain’s 5-yr bond yield gained 3 bp to 2.87%.

Credit Markets

For performance of investment grade corporate bonds, check today’s ITB Corporate Bond Indices.

The spread of the BofA Merrill Lynch U.S. High Yield Mater Index, which tracks high yield corporate bonds, widened 11 bp to end at 6.93% over Treasuries with comparable maturities.

The difference in yield between 30-Year Conventional Mortgage Backed Securities and the 10-Year Treasury widened 5  bp to 0.91%.

Across the Capital Markets

Stocks saw a bad day as its losing streak continued for a fourth consecutive day. The S&P shed 1.45% to end at 1051.87%. NASDAQ deteriorated 1.66% to call it a day at 2123.76. The CBOE VIX index gained more than 6% to 27.46%.

The dollar index, which measures the performance of the greenback against six major currencies of the world, gained 0.2% to 83.298. The Euro lost ground against the dollar, slipping 0.2% to 1.2627%. The British Pound lost too, as its value in terms of dollars fell 0.6% to 1.5396.

Gold spot price increased 0.4% to $1230.65. Crude oil spot price appreciated 2.2% to 74.16%.