CURRENCY TRADING INFOR

The baht weight, with the same name as the Thai currency, is a measurement unit for gold unique to Thailand. One baht equals to 0. 487 troy ounces.

The investors were also worried about the declining U.S. dollar and economic troubles in the United States after the U.S. Federal Reserve had decided to bail out Indy Mac, one of the country’s mortgage lender giants.

In addition, he said, the baht’s weakening had fueled the value of gold in Bangkok though the price of gold abroad stayed unchanged at around 960 dollars per ounce.

Jitti said the local price of gold ornaments is likely to continue to rise and surpass the level of 16,000 baht (some 475 dollars) per one baht weight of gold this year if the Thai currency continues to weaken.

At present, gold ornaments are traded at 14,935.60 baht (443 dollars) per baht weight for the purchase price and 15,650 baht ( 465 dollars) for the selling price, and gold bars at 15,150 baht ( 450 dollars) for the purchase price and 15,250 baht (453 dollars) for the selling price.

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The dollar dropped to $1.6038 against the euro today, the lowest since Europe’s single currency started trading in 1999. It extended this year’s 10 percent slide partly on concern that confidence in the debt of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which buy or finance almost half the $12 trillion of U.S. mortgages, will deteriorate even after the U.S. government pledged support.

European Slowdown

European government bonds extended gains after the ZEW figures, pushing the yield on the German 10-year bund 4 basis points lower to 4.36 percent at 1:21 p.m. in London. ZEW’s survey aims to predict economic activity six months in advance. A negative reading means pessimists outnumber optimists.

Growth is slowing across Europe’s economy. Confidence among French manufacturers fell to the lowest in five years in June, the country’s central bank said today, and European industrial output fell the most in almost 16 years in May.

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WL Ross & Co. will buy 3.45 billion rupees ($80 million) of foreign currency convertible bonds held by Istithmar PJSC and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Kishore Gupta, a director of the New Delhi-based airline, said in a phone interview. The U.S. financier will join SpiceJet’s board, according to a statement by India’s second-largest budget airline.

SpiceJet declined 67 percent in Mumbai this year as fuel prices drained funds needed to buy Boeing Co. planes. Ross may be betting on winning more passengers in the world’s second-fastest growing major aviation market as mergers reduce competition.

“This investment reflects the fact that there is still belief in the long-term potential of Indian aviation,” said Binit Somaia, a director for the Indian sub-continent at the Sydney-based Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation.

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But many other single-currency areas, including the US, display similar divergence. It should also be obvious that, in the absence of currency markets to act as a “valve” for economic and financial pressures, economic volatility may increase.

In fact, Eurozone leaders should be less worried about variations in internal growth than about clear evidence of overall economic underperformance. While growth has been reasonably stable since EMU started, per capita gross domestic product (GDP) — probably the best measure of economic success available — shows that Europe has lagged behind other regions, even when the figures are adjusted for workforce size. It is also well known that European productivity is falling behind, too, probably due to the same factors that make Europe seem dull, cautious, and lacking in ambition when compared with many of its competitors.

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“No dealers have been trading because there hasn’t been any movement in the currency’s value,” a dealer at a domestic bank said.

Investors feared losing money in a stagnant market, another dealer said.

Foreign institutions sold a net T$7.134 billion ($235 million) in Taiwan stocks on Friday and have sold a net total of T$73.098 billion for the month to date.

Since the beginning of the year, the Taiwan dollar has appreciated 6.3 percent on investor hopes for economic improvements under President Ma Ying-jeou, who has pledged closer trade ties with China.

Traders said oil importers had pressured the Taiwan currency by buying U.S. dollars to pay for their overseas purchases.

But the central bank stepped in and sold U.S.

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