Rand holds onto overnight gains, in range

(Reuters) - South Africa's rand held onto overnight gains on Tuesday, taking a breather after sharp losses racked up over the past week and shrugging off a wider trade deficit.

The domestic currency was trading at 7.0990 to the dollar at 1530 GMT, virtually unchanged from its close in New York on Monday, when it rebounded from a one-month low of 7.1999.


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Turkish June Foreign Trade Gap Widens for Second Month on Material Imports

(Bloomberg) -- Turkey's trade deficit widened 18
percent in June from a year earlier, the second consecutive
increase, as industry drew in raw materials for manufacture of
products to export.

The trade gap grew to $5.5 billion from a revised $4.7
billion in the year-earlier period, the statistics agency in
Ankara said on its Web site today. The deficit was forecast to be
$4.8 billion, according to the median estimate of 13 economists
surveyed by Bloomberg.


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S.Africa credit points to rate hike, trade gap up

(Reuters) - Demand for credit by South Africa's private sector grew at a faster pace in June, hardening the case for higher interest rates to curb spending, while a wider trade deficit pointed to continued pressure on the current account.

The Reserve Bank has raised its repo rate by 250 basis points to 9.5 percent since mid-2006 to tame inflation and robust consumer demand, but spending, driven by credit, remains high.


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CORRECTED - UPDATE 1-US May net long-term capital inflows hit record

(Reuters) - May's net overall capital inflow amply covered the U.S.
trade deficit for the month, which was $60 billion.




In April, overall capital inflows were $97.8 billion.


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Colombia Peso Falls Most Since March Versus Dollar as Trade Deficit Grows

(Bloomberg) -- Colombia's peso fell by the most
since March on speculation dollar inflows will decline as the
nation's trade deficit widens.

The currency dropped a third straight day for the first
time since April. Colombia had a trade deficit of $812 million
in the first three months of the year after posting a $164
million surplus in the same period a year earlier, according to
a June 5 government report. A larger trade shortfall means
domestic companies have less foreign currency they need to sell.


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Philippine Trade Deficit Widens as Imports Rise at Fastest in Four Months

(Bloomberg) -- The Philippines trade deficit widened
in March after imports rose at the fastest pace in four months,
signaling that exports may accelerate in following months.

The shortfall was $119 million, from $10 million a year
earlier, the National Statistics Office said in Manila today.


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U.S.'s Paulson Says `Action' Needed to Damp Growing `Anti-China' Sentiment

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson,
kicking off talks with China's economic leaders, said the meeting
must yield results to damp ``anti-China'' sentiment. Vice Premier
Wu Yi, his counterpart, warned Americans not to blame China for a
record trade deficit.

``It is up to us, over these two days and the work that
follows, to show that words are precursors to action,'' Paulson
said in his opening remarks. Wu responded that ``politicizing''
trade issues is ``absolutely unacceptable.''


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News