Oil depreciates on Iran deal as stocks surge; Yen retreat Crude oil poised for the largest decline in three weeks after Iran agreed to limit its nuclear program in exchange for relief from some sanctions. Asian stocks jumped, while the yen pulled back to its lowest since May. Brent crude dropped 2.3 percent to $108.53 a barrel by 10:29 a.m. in Tokyo. Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, which capped a seventh weekly gain November 22, bolster 0.3 percent. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index added 0.6 percent, while credit risk in the region missed. The yen depreciated as much as 0.5 percent to 101.81 per dollar while Thailand’s baht slid amid protests in Bangkok. Iran agreed yesterday to curtail its nuclear activities in return for easing of some sanctions on oil, auto parts, gold and precious metals, the first major crack in a decade-long deadlock. U.S. job openings climbed to a five-year high in September, data Nov. 22 showed, while a report today is projected to show pending home sales rebounded last month. Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda speaks today before data this week forecast to show inflation is accelerating amid unprecedented monetary easing. “While Israel and the Saudis won’t be happy, the oil bears will,” Phil Flynn, senior market analyst at the Price Futures Group in Chicago, said by e-mail today. Brent fell from a six-week high and West Texas Intermediate oil declined 0.9 percent. Sales Capped Oil exports from Iran will be held at about 1 million barrels a day under sanctions that remain in force after the nation and six world powers came to an agreement in Geneva, according to the White House. The sanctions have cut Iranian crude sales by 60 percent since the start of 2012, depriving the country of more than $80 billion in revenue, U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration said in a statement. “This certainly sets the table for lower prices in the future,” said Stephen Schork, president of Schork Group Inc. in Villanova, Pennsylvania “But we’ll have to wait and see how much of this has already been priced in.” Gold lost as much as 0.5 percent to $1,237.45 an ounce following last week’s 3.6 percent decline, the steepest weekly slump since September. Silver backslide 0.7 percent today, reaching the lowest price since August 8. Yen Declines “There’s a risk-on sentiment in the market after the Iran deal,” said Toshiya Yamauchi, a senior analyst in Tokyo at Ueda Harlow Ltd., which provides margin-trading services. The yen dropped 0.5 percent to 101.75 per dollar and touched 101.81, the weakest level since May. Japan’s statistics bureau will the nation’s consumer prices excluding fresh food rose 0.9 percent last month from a year earlier, the strongest advance since 2008, according to the median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News before data due November 29. The Bank of Japan said in April it wanted to achieve 2 percent inflation in about two years. The Thai baht fell 0.4 percent to 31.93 per U.S. dollar as anti-government groups pledged to spread their protest to military bases, government offices and television stations today after more than 100,000 people joined rallies to oust Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. The won added 0.2 percent to 1,058.80 per dollar in a second day of gains. New Zealand’s dollar, known as the kiwi, rose 0.2 percent 82.11 U.S. cents. Rial Surges Iran’s currency, the rial, appreciated 2.3 percent yesterday to 29,300 per dollar in Tehran, according to prices provided by five street traders in the nation’s black market. The rial lost more than half its value in the year before President Hassan Rouhani’s election in June. The cost of protecting bonds from non-payment in the Asia-Pacific region declined. The Markit iTraxx Asia index of 40 investment-grade borrowers outside Japan dropped 3 basis points to 129 basis points, Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. prices show. The benchmark is set for its biggest one-day fall in a week and its lowest close since September 23, according to data provider CMA. Yields on 10-year Treasury notes rose two basis points, or 0.01 percentage point, to 2.76 percent, after falling four basis points November 22. Australian government bonds due in a decade rose a second trading day, pushing yields down two basis points today to 4.30 percent. The Topix increased 0.7 percent, holding at the highest closing level since May. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.5 percent today after the gauge slid 1.2 percent last week in its second weekly decline in November. The Kospi Index in Seoul jumped 1 percent.
