AFP
Crude oil prices and the euro hit new depths yesterday as the dollar benefited from last week’s solid US jobs figures, while European stocks retreated on weak Asian data.
European stock markets dropped, with London’s benchmark FTSE 100 falling 1.05% to end the day at 6,672.15.
The Paris CAC 40 dropped by 1.00% to 4,375.48, while in Frankfurt the DAX 30 declined by 0.72% to 10,014.99 after having reached a new closing high on Friday.
“Chinese trade data fell well short of expectations and this has sent traders scurrying for the exits as the new week gets under way,” said Tony Cross, market analyst at Trustnet Direct trading group. Some profit-taking set in after indices had soared on Friday thanks to the US posting a surge in jobs.
The US economy pumped out 321,000 new jobs in November, the highest monthly number in nearly three years, the Labor Department said ahead of the weekend.
US stocks retreated from record highs, following European markets’ downward after the weak Asian data.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 0.30% to 17,904.08 points.
The broad-based S&P 500 shed 0.38% to 2,067.55 while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.50% to 4,756.99.
Both the Dow and S&P 500 closed at record highs on Friday.
Brent North Sea crude hit a fresh five-year low at $65.93 a barrel and the European single currency fell to $1.2247 — the lowest point since August 2012.
Oil prices continued their retreat as well.
After hitting its new low, Brent North Sea crude for delivery in January rebounded to $66.38 per barrel, which was still down $2.69 from Friday’s close.
US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for January shed $2.33 on the New York Mercantile Exchange to $65.51. It had earlier in the day hit its lowest point since July 2009, at $63.16.
In foreign currency trading, after touching a fresh two-year low of $1.2247, the euro picked up to stand at $1.2292 at 1700 GMT. It had stood slightly lower at $1.2283 late on Friday.
The dollar hit a seven-year high of ¥121.85 following Japanese data. It later fell to ¥120.91, down from 121.44 on Friday.
The pound strengthened, taking 78.66 pence to buy one euro at 1700 GMT, compared to 78.83 pence late on Friday.
Against the dollar, a pound bought $1.5626. It had earlier in the day fallen to $1.5542, its lowest level since September 2013.
On the London Bullion Market, gold finished at $1,193 an ounce from $1,194 on Friday.
