The euro weakened for a third day against the yen

Currencies

• EUR/USD The euro weakened for a third day against the yen after a report showed Spain’s economy entered its second recession since 2009, adding to concern Europe’s debt crisis is worsening.
  The euro fell 0.7 percent to 105.67 yen at 5 p.m. New York time, bringing its April loss to 4.4 percent. The shared currency declined 0.1 percent to $1.3239, extending this month’s drop to 0.8 percent. The dollar weakened 0.6 percent to 79.82 yen, falling below 80 yen for the first time since Feb. 24.
  The 17-nation currency extended its first monthly decline this year versus the dollar as Spain’s government struggled to convince investors it can narrow its budget deficit in an economy that’s grappling with almost 25 percent unemployment.
  Investors sought the perceived safety of fixed-income investments after U.S. job growth in March failed to meet economists’ forecasts and amid growing concerns that European leaders will fail to manage their debt loads. Joblessness in the euro area probably rose to 10.9 percent last month, the highest since 1997.
  The index peaked last month at 80.177 on April 5, a day before the U.S. Labor Department said employers created 120,000 jobs in March. The median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg was for an increase of 205,000.

• USD/CAD The Canadian dollar The Canadian Dollar came under pressure, after reports showed that Canadian economy contracted unexpectedly in February.
  On a monthly basis, the gross domestic product in Canada fell 0.2% in February, compared to 0.1% rise in January. Analysts’ were expecting the economy to rise 0.2% in February.
  In the Asian session, at GMT0300, the pair is trading at 0.9879, with the USD trading 0.04% higher from yesterday’s close.

Commodities

Oil traded near the lowest close in two days in New York before a government report that may show crude inventories rose to a 21-year high in the U.S., the world’s biggest consumer of the commodity.

Crude for June delivery was at $104.72 a barrel, down 15 cents, on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 11:06 a.m. Sydney time. The contract yesterday fell 6 cents to $104.87, the lowest close since April 26. Prices gained 1.8 percent last month and are 6.1 percent higher this year.

Brent oil for June settlement was at $119.26, down 57 cents, on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The European benchmark contract’s front month premium to WTI was at $14.55, compared with $14.60 yesterday.

Gold rose up to a two-week high on Tuesday, supported by weakness in the dollar after latest data indicated the U.S. economic recovery might be losing steam.
Though the disappointing data may fuel expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve might launch more quantitative easing, top two Fed officials both said they saw no need for further easing but also said they do not believe that the Fed should quickly move to raise rates.

Spot gold edged up 0.2 percent to $1,667.45 earlier, its highest since April 13, before easing to $1,665.56 an ounce by 03:00 GMT.

Equities

• Asian stocks index fell as Japanese companies forecast lower-than-estimated earnings and as the outlook for exporters dimmed after a report signaled U.S. manufacturing is slowing and Spain slipped into a recession.
  
  Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 1.1 percent after the Yen touched the level of 7974 per US Dollar.
  
  MSCI Asia Pacific Index dropped 0.2 percent to 125.04.

• U.S. stocks

  In the U.S., a drop in an index of Midwestern manufacturing and a slowdown in consumer spending last month added to worries that the economy is losing steam.
  News that Spain's economy entered another recession renewed worries about the fragility of Europe's finances Monday and nudged stocks lower. The market ended its first losing month this year.
  The Spanish government said that the country's economy shrank in the first three months of the year, the second straight quarter of contraction.

  The worry is that Spain's heft could make it difficult to rescue. Its economy is roughly twice the size of the three other countries that have tapped the European Union for bailout loans added together -- Greece, Portugal and Ireland.

  The dollar and U.S. Treasury prices edged up as investors parked money in low-risk assets.

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.11 % reaching level of 13,213.63.

• S&P 500 dropped 0.6% reaching level of 1,397.91

European stock futures fell overnight amid more bad news for indebted Spain and poor US economic data.

London's FTSE 100 index slid 0.68 per cent to close at 5737.78 points and the Frankfurt DAX 30 was 0.59 per cent lower at 6761.19 points.

In Paris the CAC 40 dropped by a stiff 1.64 per cent to 3212.80 points and Madrid's IBEX 35 index lost 1.89 per cent to 7011 points as data confirmed that Spain was back in recession and Standard & Poor's downgraded the top Spanish banks.

"Once again, the Spanish ulcer is providing cause for concern; anti-austerity protests took place over the weekend and this morning we have had news confirming that Spain slipped back into recession in the first quarter

• The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index futures dropped - 0.68% reaching level of 5,738.