The trade gap in the United States rose 5.3% to %37.4 billion in the fourth month of the year, compared to the $41.9 billion deficit seen in the previous month, according to the Department of Commerce. Imports grew 2.1% to $220.2 billion in April, whereas exports rose 1.5% to $182.8 billion.
Non-farm payrolls rose by a seasonally adjusted 38,000 in May, missing the 160,000 forecast and following April's revised down 123,000. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate declined to 4.7% from 5.0% seen in the previous month, and average hourly earnings rose 0.2% month-over-month in May, in line with expectations.
The Euro zone's retail sales rose 0.0% month-over-month in April, following the -0.5 reading seen in the previous month and the 0.2% market forecast. Meanwhile, the final Markit UK Services PMI grew to 53.5 in May from 52.3 seen in April, surpassing the 52.4 forecast.
The final Markit Germany Composite PMI came in at 54.5 in May, following the 54.7 preliminary reading and April's 53.6, whereas the final Services PMI came in at 55.2, in line with the preliminary reading and above April's 54.5. Meanwhile, the Euro zone's Composite PMI came in at 53.1 in May, following the 52.9 flash estimate and 53.0 in April,
The US Dollar ignored Friday's data released by the European Union, trading higher against the common currency on the LSE. Thus, the Euro traded near its intra-day lows around $1.1140 by 11:00 GMT ahead of US labour data. Analysts expect some volatility in the currency markets during the North American session.
The Energy Information Administration's official report for the week ended May 27 published on Thursday showed that crude oil inventories in the United States dropped by 1.37 million barrels, following a 4.2 million barrel fall seen in the previous week. In the meantime, analysts expected to see a 2.72 million-barrel decline.
Major US equity markets opened lower on Thursday, following the ADP's downbeat jobs report released earlier. At the session start, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index dropped 0.32% to 2,092.80, whereas the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.35% to 17,727.35, and the Nasdaq Composite Index lost 0.27%, opening at 4,938.80 points.
Crude oil futures traded lower on Thursday ahead of the OPEC meeting in Vienna. West Texas Intermediate dropped 0.94%, trading at $48.55 per barrel, whereas Brent declined 0.72%, trading at $49.36 per barrel by 12:50 on the London Stock Exchange.
The number of people filing for unemployment benefits in the United States dropped to 267,000 in the week ended May 28, following 268,000 initial jobless claims seen in the previous seven days. Meanwhile, analysts expected to see an increase to 271,000 filings. It was the 65th consecutive week initial claims remained below the 300,000 level.
According to the ADP's National Employment Report released on Thursday, private sector companies in the United States created 173,000 more new job vacancies last month, meeting analysts' expectations, following April's upwardly revised 166,000 jobs and posting the smallest gain since January 2014.
West Texas Intermediate traded 1.36% lower at $48.43 per barrel, whereas Brent traded 1.22% lower at $49.28 per barrel by 15:15 GMT on the New York Stock Exchange. In the meantime, the bullion dropped 0.42%, trading at $1,212.40 per troy ounce around the same time.
The S&P 500 partially rebounded from its intra-day lows after the release of stronger-than-expected manufacturing figures for May. Thus, the S&P 500 traded 0.30% lower at 2,090.64, climbing from its daily low of 2,085.20 points. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.46%, trading at 17,705.00, while the Nasdaq Composite Index lost 0.20%, trading at 4,938.25 points by 14:45 GMT.
Fresh figures released on Wednesday showed that the US manufacturing sector performed better-than-expected in May. The The Institute for Supply Management's Manufacturing PMI rose to 51.3 in the fifth month of the year, following the previous month's 50.8 and surpassing analysts' forecast of 50.5.
According to the latest news released on Wednesday, the final reading of Markit's May Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index for the United States came in at 50.7, which was above the preliminary reading of 50.5 but below April's 50.8. Analysts bet the reading would remain unchanged from the preliminary data.
Germany's final manufacturing PMI for the fifth month came in at 52.1, following the 52.4 reading reported earlier and April's 51.8 result. Meanwhile, final PMI figures for the UK came in at 50.1, compared to the 49.9 forecast and April's revised up 49.4 points, whereas the Euro zone's final manufacturing PMI for May came in at 51.5, in line with
The Chicago area's PMI for the fifth month of the year came out worse-than-expected. The Institute for Supply Management's Chicago Purchasing Managers' Index dropped to 49.3 in May, following April's 50.4 reading and posting the worst result since February. Analysts expected the Index to rise to 50.7.
Sentiment among American consumers unexpectedly worsened in May, according to the latest news released on Tuesday. The Index of Consumer Confidence based on the Conference Board's survey dropped to 92.6 during May, following the 94.2 reading seen in the previous month and falling behind the 96.0 forecast.
US personal spending rose 1.0% in April, following March's 0.1% result and surpassing the 0.7% forecast. In the meantime, personal income remained unchanged at 0.4%, in line with economists' expectations, whereas the core PCE rose 0.2% in April, following the previous month's 0.1% and meeting analysts' forecasts.
According to the latest news released on Tuesday, Canada's Gross Domestic Product dropped 0.2% month-on-month in March, following the 0.1% decline seen in February and falling behind the 0.0% market forecast. Meanwhile, on an annual basis, the country's GDP grew 1.1% in March, compared to the 1.5% reading seen last year and failing to meet analysts' expectations of a 1.4%
Germany's unadjusted unemployment rate fell to 6% from April's 6.3% reading, the Federal Labour Office announced on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the Euro zone's jobless rate dropped to 10.2% from 11% year-over-year in April, while the unemployment rate in the European Union declined to 8.7% from 8.8% seen in March and 9.6% posted in April last year.
On Monday, the Canadian Dollar traded 0.38% lower at C$1.3036 against its US counterpart by 15:15 GMT on the widening of Canada's current-account deficit reported earlier today by Statistics of Canada. In the meantime, the country's IPPI dropped 0.5%, following the 0.6% fall in March, whereas the RMPI rose 0.7% in the same period, compared to the 4.5% hike seen
Europe's stock markets closed Monday's trading session in the green territory. Germany's DAX 30 Index finished 0.51% higher at 10,338.50, its one-month high, whereas France's CAC 40 Index added 0.23%, closing at 4,525.50, and the pan-European Euro Stoxx 50 Index jumped 0.54%, finishing at 3,092.50 points.
The Canadian current account deficit grew to C$16.77 billion in the Q1 2016 as tumbling crude oil prices drove the country's exports down sharply, Statistics of Canada reported on Monday. In addition, the deficit for the Q4 2015 was revised up to C$15.71 billion from an originally reported C$15.38 billion reading.
The Preliminary Consumer Price Index in Germany picked up in May, whereas the inflation rate remained far below the target zone. According to the Federal Statistics Office, Germany's CPI grew 0.1% year-over-year in May, following the 0.1% drop seen in the previous month and meeting analysts' expectations. Meanwhile, the CPI gauge added 0.3% in the same period, compared to April's 0.4% decline.