Interbank Foreign Exchange Rates

                          Latest       Previous   %Chg    Daily    Daily   %Chg 
Dollar Rates                               Close            High      Low  12/31 
 
 
USD/JPY Japan            78.42-46       78.30-33  +0.16    78.65    78.32  +1.98 
EUR/USD Euro            1.2349-52      1.2362-65  -0.11   1.2368   1.2324  -4.70 
GBP/USD U.K.            1.5374-78      1.5402-10  -0.19   1.5409   1.5368  -1.07 
USD/CHF Switzerland     0.9720-24      0.9713-17  +0.07   0.9744   0.9712  +3.73 
USD/CAD Canada          1.0347-52      1.0326-31  +0.20   1.0362   1.0320  +1.37 
AUD/USD Australia       0.9690-94      0.9732-36  -0.43   0.9734   0.9650  -5.06 
NZD/USD New Zealand     0.7516-22      0.7529-34  -0.16   0.7536   0.7486  -3.31 
 
Euro Rates 
 
EUR/JPY Japan            96.85-90       96.81-85  +0.05    97.10    96.80  -2.70 
EUR/GBP U.K.            0.8032-35      0.8024-28  +0.09   0.8033   0.8018  -5.01 
EUR/CHF Switzerland     1.2008-12      1.2009-13  -0.01   1.2013   1.2010  -1.33 
EUR/CAD Canada          1.2780-88      1.2766-73  +0.11   1.2783   1.2754  -3.39 
EUR/AUD Australia       1.2741-48     1.2698-705  +0.34   1.2775   1.2686  +0.38 
EUR/DKK Denmark        7.4287-332     7.4292-333   0.00   7.4335   7.4244  -0.06 
EUR/NOK Norway         7.5572-648      7.5606-72  -0.04   7.5667   7.5534  -2.38 
EUR/SEK Sweden         8.9834-914     8.9835-912  +0.00   8.9928   8.9662  +0.79 
EUR/CZK Czech Rep.      25.707-46     25.681-752  +0.04   25.753   25.606  +0.51 
EUR/HUF Hungary       300.66-1.38    300.46-1.14  +0.07   300.99   300.90  -4.47 
EUR/PLN Poland        4.3886-4040     4.3834-943  +0.17   4.3965   4.3796  -1.59 
 
Yen Rates 
 
AUD/JPY Australia        76.00-06       76.20-27  -0.27    76.47    75.80  -2.80 
GBP/JPY U.K.            120.56-66      120.60-70  -0.03   121.04   120.61  +0.89 
CAD/JPY Canada           75.75-83       75.79-87  -0.05    76.08    75.78  +0.61 
NZD/JPY New Zealand    58.94-9.02     58.95-9.02  -0.01    59.19    58.81  -1.39 
 
Other Dollar Rates 
 
USD/CZK Czech Rep.      20.815-44     20.773-828  +0.14   20.862   20.716  +5.46 
USD/HUF Hungary       243.46-4.00      243.04-55  +0.18   243.97   243.36  +0.24 
USD/DKK Denmark         6.0152-78     6.0095-117  +0.10   6.0296   6.0086  +4.87 
USD/NOK Norway         6.1191-242     6.1157-200  +0.06   6.1359   6.1096  +2.43 
USD/PLZ Poland         3.5536-654     3.5457-541  +0.27   3.5608   3.5452  +3.26 
USD/RUB Russia         33.419-524     33.306-416  +0.33   33.640   33.280  +4.11 
USD/SEK Sweden          7.2741-92     7.2666-717  +0.10   7.2905   7.2616  +5.77 
USD/ZAR S. Africa      8.5073-224     8.5156-272  -0.08   8.5647   8.4964  +5.29 
 
USD/CNY China           6.3667-88     6.3685-706  -0.03   6.3715   6.3684  +0.77 
USD/HKD Hong Kong       7.7610-16      7.7617-27  -0.01   7.7634   7.7612  -0.07 
USD/MYR Malaysia       3.1777-878     3.1682-748  +0.35   3.1880   3.1742  +0.17 
USD/INR India           56.078-93      56.033-48  +0.08   56.078   56.093  +5.77 
USD/IDR Indonesia         9302-63         9400-0  -0.72     9392     9300  +3.32 
USD/PHP Philippines    43.445-646     43.326-570  +0.22   43.605   43.526  -0.69 
USD/SGD Singapore       1.2865-72      1.2882-90  -0.14   1.2906   1.2864  -0.74 
USD/KRW S. Korea    1179.39-80.00  1179.29-81.80  -0.07  1182.99  1180.00  +1.65 
USD/TWD Taiwan         29.839-940      29.829-90  +0.10   29.879   29.870  -1.24 
USD/THB Thailand       31.778-836     31.793-856  -0.05   31.881   31.828  +0.66 
USD/VND Vietnam        20595-1252       20805-70  +0.41    20595    21252  -0.54 
 
USD/BRR Brazil          2.0215-46      2.0219-50  -0.02   2.0255   2.0234  +8.44 
USD/MXN Mexico        14.4206-434    14.3643-731  +0.44  14.4662  14.3320  +3.48 
USD/ARS Argentina      4.4642-716     4.4657-730  -0.03   4.4676   4.4710  +3.69 
 
Source: ICAP Plc. 
 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 31, 2012 22:50 ET (02:50 GMT)

-The State Bank of Vietnam Friday set the exchange rate for the U.S

                        Friday                Thursday 
   Official USD/VND rate: VND20,828             VND20,828 
   Vietcombank rate:      VND20,840-VND20,890   VND20,840-VND20,890 
   Gold shop rate:        VND20,870-VND20,890   VND20,860-VND20,890 
 

HANOI (Dow Jones)--The State Bank of Vietnam Friday set the exchange rate for the U.S. dollar at VND20,828, unchanged from Thursday.
Rates offered by major commercial banks led by Vietcombank are steady, while gold shops have slightly raised their selling rate.
"Forex trading activity in the interbank market is lackluster because of weak corporate demand for the greenback as many trading firms still report slow sales of imported materials and goods," said a foreign exchange dealer with a Hanoi-based commercial joint stock bank.
Many domestic firms have reportedly said they faced rising inventories in May because of weak consumption caused by ongoing recession, the dealer said.
Dollar demand from importers of staple items declined after the import value of gasoline fell 13.3% on year to $3.98 billion over January-May, while automobile imports fell 36% to $845 million during the same period, said the dealer, citing government trade data released this week.
Another dealer with Ho Chi Minh City-based ACB Bank said though Vietnam reported a trade deficit of $700 million in May, the deficit was only $632 million for the January-May period compared with a deficit of more than $6.25 billion booked for the same period last year.
"These figures show that Vietnam has faced no immediate dollar shortage, and I expect the exchange rate to be flat in the near term," the dealer said.
Currency dealers with banks and gold shops in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City forecast the free market rate to move in a range of VND20,870 to VND20,900 over the weekend.

-By Nguyen Pham Muoi, Dow Jones Newswires; 84-4-35123041; phammuoi.nguyen@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 31, 2012 22:30 ET (02:30 GMT)

HSBC's China

0240 GMT [Dow Jones] HSBC's China PMI, a competing measure to the official PMI which is better regarded by many analysts, declined to 48.4 in May, compared to 49.3 in April and an earlier preliminary reading of 48.7. The series has been in contractionary territory below 50 for seven straight months, in contrast to the official CFLP PMI, which posted a rise to 53.3 in April before falling to 50.4 in May. The April CFLP PMI reading has been widely viewed with suspicion in markets, as other April data was weak across-the-board. In a note on Thursday, Capital Economics said the HSBC PMI is more reliable due to better seasonal adjustment and a higher sampling of small, private-sector firms. The HSBC index "is more representative of the manufacturing sector as a whole," Capital Economics said. "It is also independent of official control." (aaron.back@dowjones.com) 

China official May PMI drops sharply to 50.4 from 53.3 in April

-- Currencies in Asia-Pacific region fall on weak data
-- Economists says economy will bottom out in the second quarter
BEIJING -- China's official Purchasing Managers Index fell significantly to 50.4 in May from April's 53.3, showing an accelerated slowdown in the world's second-largest economy that calls for more stimulus policies.
The gauge for nationwide manufacturing activity was also lower than the median forecast of 51.5 from 10 economists polled by Dow Jones Newswires. Nine out of the 10 economists predicted a higher PMI than the real figure.
A PMI reading above 50 indicates an expansion in manufacturing activity, while a reading below 50 indicates contraction.
After the weak data was announced, the Australian dollar fell to 0.9644 against the U.S dollar, its lowest level since Oct. 5, 2011. Other regional currencies including the New Zealand dollar and Singapore dollar were all lower because of the China PMI.
Due to weak overseas demand and domestic investment, China's economic growth will likely bottom out in the second quarter, before Beijing's supportive policies begin to take effect in the second half of the year, economists said.
"As risks of a hard landing have increased, Beijing should issue more policies to stabilize economic growth," said Li Huiyong, an economist at Shenyin & Wanguo Securities.
"The quicker interest rates are cut the better," he said.
Meanwhile, Standard Chartered economist Li Wei expressed some skepticism at the big drop in the PMI. The high April figure is suspect given that other data were weak across the board that month, and flawed seasonal adjustment methods may be the culprit, Li said.
"I think the slowdown is all being reflected in May, so I'm a little bit concerned about some over-correction in the data," he said.
Nonetheless, Li said there is no doubt underlying economic conditions are weak and economic data may not begin to reflect the stimulus until August or September.
-Liu Li and Aaron Back contributed to this article, Dow Jones Newswires; 8610-8400-7713; li.liu@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 31, 2012 21:35 ET (01:35 GMT)

END) Dow Jones Newswires May 31, 2012 22:19 ET (02:19 GMT)

0219 GMT [Dow Jones] Korea government bonds are higher, helped by continued risk aversion amid worries over the euro zone debt crisis, while data tips weaker growth in China and the U.S. "Yields of local bonds, like those on U.S. Treasurys, are already trading at very low levels, but there is no clear momentum yet to revive risk appetite in the market," says Kim Se-hun, a fixed-income analyst at Daishin Securities. "The bullish run for local bonds is expected to continue in June. The three-year yield may fall near the BOK's policy rate of 3.25%" in the near term, he adds. The three-year yield is down 2 bps at 3.30%, the five-year yield is down 3 bps at 3.40% and the one-year yield is down 4 bps at 3.65%. Lead June bond futures are up nine ticks at 104.74. 

Daily Forex Brief London: Thursday 31st May 2012

Dollars, yen and G4 bonds smell of roses

More blood on the streets of financial markets yesterday and overnight, with risk assets reversing still further and safe haven currencies and bonds smelling like roses. Interestingly, while the dollar remained very much in favour and money poured into US treasuries, it was actually the Japanese yen that shone even more brightly. Indeed, USD/JPY is now below 79, which no doubt will both alarm and disappoint Tokyo in equal measure. Although bond yields for Europe's fiscal miscreants soared, the price action in the single currency was more measured, as it drifted gradually down below 1.24, a fresh 2yr low. High-beta currencies such as the Aussie fared worse –it fell below the 0.97 level overnight. In general, May has been a dreadful month for emerging currencies – for instance, the likes of the Russian ruble and the Polish zloty have suffered a 10% decline thus far, while the Indian rupee has dropped to a record low. Likewise, commodities have been hard hit – Brent crude fell to USD 103.34 overnight, down more than 3% over the past 24 hours, while the copper price lost another 2.5%.