By Wayne Cole
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Asian shares crept ahead on Monday, and oil prices reached a five-week high, as more countries re-open their economies, stirring hope in the world, was close to the end of the recession.
The summer weather draws many-of-the-world-of-out-of-corona virus locks as the center of the epidemic-of-New-York-to-Italy and Spain to a gradual lifting of the restrictions that have kept millions locked up for months.
“The economies of Europe and the U. s. probably hit the bottom of the barrel in April, and we have gradually come back to life,” wrote Barclays capital economist Christian Keller in a note.
“However, the data from most economies highlight the depth of the contraction, awareness, or risk more long-term, scarring, which can compromise the recovery.”
The President of the Federal Reserve, and Jerome Powell, has taken a cautious line in an interview over the weekend, saying a U. s. economic recovery may extend in depth in the next year-and-a-full-back-may depend on a corona virus vaccine.
On Sunday night, secretary Powell stressed the likely need for a period of three to six months more than the government financial assistance for businesses and families.
Data on Friday showed retail sales and industrial production both dipped in April, putting the U. s. economy on track for its deepest contraction since the Great Depression.
Closer to home, data in Japan showed the world’s third-largest economy, slipped into recession in the first quarter, putting it on the path of the worst of the post-war decline as the corona virus is taking a heavy toll.
Adding to the uncertainty were the trade tensions between the united States and China, with Beijing warning of it, was opposed to the latest rules at Huawei [HWT.UL].
The E-Mini futures of the S&P 500 added 0.7%, while the results obtained from a raft of U.s. retailers this week are likely to make grim reading.
This is the case, the emphasis will be placed on the U. s. treasury Department’s first auction of its 20-year bond on Thursday. The Treasury plans to borrow a record amount of nearly $ 3 billion this quarter.
Until now, the market has easily absorbed the flood of new debt in 10 years, the yield of the held to a tight range of the order of 0.64%.
The dollar was also a bone in large part of the range bound, with its refuge appeal of the keep well taken care of, the whole of the. Against a basket of currencies, it was the last 100.38, having drifted up to 0.7% more than last week.
The euro was steady at $1.0820, while the dollar edged up 0.2% on the Japanese yen to 107.25.
The pound sterling has hit a seven-week low to $1.2073 after, the chief economist of the Bank of England said that the bank was looking urgently at options such as negative interest rates and buy riskier assets to support the economy.
In commodity markets, the flood of liquidity from central banks combined with historically low interest rates to help lift the gold medal in seven years at the most. The metal was last up 1 percent at $1,758 an ounce.
Oil prices have reached their highest since the month of December on a recovery of demand as countries around the world, and has eased the travel restrictions.
The Brent crude oil futures firmed 96 cents to $33.46 per barrel, while U. s. crude rose 98 cents to $mc no. 30.41.
(Editing by Shri Navaratnam)