11 Apr 2014
EMEA EM Express: EU to discuss broadening of sanctions against Russia on Monday
FXStreet (Łódź) - On Friday the Kremlin urged EU nations to respond to Vladimir Putin's letter in which he signaled that Ukraine's rising gas debt could affect gas supplies to Europe. Moscow also expressed surprise with the US criticism of the recent sharp hike of gas prices for Ukraine.
EU Commission spokesperson Sabine Berger assured today that the EU was already working on a way to help Ukraine meet its obligations. On the other hand, European Commissioner for Energy Gunther Gettinger said earlier in an interview for an Austrian radio that there was no need to panic over Russian energy supplies.
Moreover, a senior EU official said today that EU foreign ministers will hold a meeting on Monday during which they will discuss further sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine situation.
The source stressed that the recent outbreak of pro-Russian protests in east Ukraine couldn't be left unanswered by the West. More names are expected be added to the sanctions list, but they probably won't be announced on Monday yet.
Also on Friday, NATO secretary general Anders Fogh Rasmussen reiterated his calls for Russia to withdraw its troops from the border with Ukraine. During a visit to the Czech Republic on Thursday he warned that the soldiers were "not training, but ready for combat." Today he revealed that military action over Ukraine wasn't being considered but that NATO was taking steps to protect the country.
Meanwhile, Russian Prosecutor General General Yury Chaika announced that Ukraine's former president Viktor Yanukovych, wanted for mass murder of peaceful citizens, wouldn't be handed over to Ukraine.
"We do not see any grounds for his handover," Chaika told the Interfax news agency, adding that Yanukovych was a legitimate president while the new Kiev authorities came into power through staging a coup. “"The information available to us suggests that he has not committed any crimes. Hence, there are no reasons to extradite him,” Chaika said.
Economic data
Hungary's inflation numbers, released on Friday, showed a 0.1% increase month-on-month in March, unchanged from the previous month and slightly below expectations of +0.2%. Core CPI slid to 2.7% from 2.8%.
Turkey's current account deficit narrowed to USD-3.19B in February from USD-4.88B in January, the Polish current account deficit fell to €-572M from €-825M and the Czech Current account deficit dropped to CZK 22.1B from CZK 25.9B.
Technicals
Following the news of possible new EU sanctions on Russia, the ruble fell 0.2% to 41.8567 against the central bank’s target dollar euro basket, approaching a 1.6% decline in the last five days.
On Thursday the USD/RUB rose by 0.36% to 35.7100. The daily FXStreet Trend Index was slightly bearish, and the OB/OS Index neutral. RSI was at 48 at the last close and moved to 72 so far today. The Daily 2-StDev Volatility Bandwidth was shrinking at 4264 pips, with ATR (14) shrinking at 3811 pips. The 1D 200 SMA was at 33.5304, while the 1D 20 EMA was at 35.6765.
EU Commission spokesperson Sabine Berger assured today that the EU was already working on a way to help Ukraine meet its obligations. On the other hand, European Commissioner for Energy Gunther Gettinger said earlier in an interview for an Austrian radio that there was no need to panic over Russian energy supplies.
Moreover, a senior EU official said today that EU foreign ministers will hold a meeting on Monday during which they will discuss further sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine situation.
The source stressed that the recent outbreak of pro-Russian protests in east Ukraine couldn't be left unanswered by the West. More names are expected be added to the sanctions list, but they probably won't be announced on Monday yet.
Also on Friday, NATO secretary general Anders Fogh Rasmussen reiterated his calls for Russia to withdraw its troops from the border with Ukraine. During a visit to the Czech Republic on Thursday he warned that the soldiers were "not training, but ready for combat." Today he revealed that military action over Ukraine wasn't being considered but that NATO was taking steps to protect the country.
Meanwhile, Russian Prosecutor General General Yury Chaika announced that Ukraine's former president Viktor Yanukovych, wanted for mass murder of peaceful citizens, wouldn't be handed over to Ukraine.
"We do not see any grounds for his handover," Chaika told the Interfax news agency, adding that Yanukovych was a legitimate president while the new Kiev authorities came into power through staging a coup. “"The information available to us suggests that he has not committed any crimes. Hence, there are no reasons to extradite him,” Chaika said.
Economic data
Hungary's inflation numbers, released on Friday, showed a 0.1% increase month-on-month in March, unchanged from the previous month and slightly below expectations of +0.2%. Core CPI slid to 2.7% from 2.8%.
Turkey's current account deficit narrowed to USD-3.19B in February from USD-4.88B in January, the Polish current account deficit fell to €-572M from €-825M and the Czech Current account deficit dropped to CZK 22.1B from CZK 25.9B.
Technicals
Following the news of possible new EU sanctions on Russia, the ruble fell 0.2% to 41.8567 against the central bank’s target dollar euro basket, approaching a 1.6% decline in the last five days.
On Thursday the USD/RUB rose by 0.36% to 35.7100. The daily FXStreet Trend Index was slightly bearish, and the OB/OS Index neutral. RSI was at 48 at the last close and moved to 72 so far today. The Daily 2-StDev Volatility Bandwidth was shrinking at 4264 pips, with ATR (14) shrinking at 3811 pips. The 1D 200 SMA was at 33.5304, while the 1D 20 EMA was at 35.6765.