The Sterling is holding steady against the US Dollar after seven consecutive sessions of downfall. As traders wait for the GDP data to be released, in regard to UK's second quarter, the Cable is sitting at 1.6985, close to the lowest price in one month, which reflects disappointing UK retail sales and surprisingly good unemployment claims in the US.
UK's economy is on the verge of growing larger than recorded before 2008. GDP was forecast at the same speed as in the first quarter, this way revealing a 0.8% expansion, during the period from April to June. This year's growth is estimated to be 3.1%, making it the strongest pace since the end of 2007.
The Dollar headed for its second weekly gain against the Euro as U.S. economists said that durable goods recovered in June, explaining that the economy is expanding. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose to its monthly high before the reports showing the U.S. economy's expansion and increased payrolls. The Dollar was little changed at $1,3468 after advancing 4% this week.
Japan's inflation in June slowed as Haruhiko Kuroda's actions move it towards the bank's target. CPI, excluding fresh food, went up 3.3% after a 3.4% gain. Kuroda said inflation will slow down in the next months before accelerating to the Bank of Japan's goal of 2% by this year. Overall inflation was 3.6% and 2.3% excluding energy and perishables, while
The Department of Labor in the US released information concerning jobless claims which indicated that only 284K unemployment benefits applications were filled. This represents a decrease of 19K unemployment claims when compared to the preceding month. A survey by Bloomberg including 50 economists revealed that the median forecast accounted for 307K jobless claims.
The Swiss National Bank will keep the 1.20 per euro cap since they want to keep prices stable in the foreseeable future. SNB Chairman Thomas Jordan argued in an interview that the cap is their main policy tool seeing as price development is their primary concern. SNB has already expressed their willingness to stick to the cap in response to the recent ECB easing.
As a result of a disappointing 0.1% rise in retail sales in the UK, the Cable dropped to the lowest value in one month, corresponding to a decrease of 0.18% to 1.7014. This also caused the Euro to rise against the Pound by 0.28%, recovering from a 22-month low from 0.7873 to 0.7922, also supported by manufacturing PMI growth.
South Korea revealed its plans to inject 11.7 trillion won to strengthen the economy after growth slowed down to the weakest pace since the beginning of 2013. The country is ready to deploy funds from the current year's budget and increase the deployment of cash from governmental programs. The government and the BoK are determined to overturn the weak sentiment.
According to the International Monetary Fund, the US economy is expected to grow 1.7% this year, representing a cut from last month's forecast of 2% growth. The decline in growth predictions ought to add to the subsequent drooping in the labour market for the following years. The IMF also advised the US to better wage distribution.
During the month of June retail sales rose by 0.1% in the United Kingdom. However, this increase was unsatisfactory compared to its forecast. After the release, the Sterling extended losses versus the Dollar, dropping by 0.16% from 1.7040 to 1.7018. In the meantime, European stocks were varied. Euro Stoxx 50 climbed 0.4%, FTSE 100 dropped 0.1% and DAX rose by
In the Euro zone, manufacturing activity inched up from the previous month. Manufacturing PMI in July expanded to 51.9, indicating a timid increment compared to 51.8 in June. Still, analysts had forecast a decrease to 51.7. Meanwhile, services PMI surprisingly rose to 54.4 from last month's 52.8, exceeding analysts' forecast of 52.7. Following this release, the Euro rose 0.05% to
After the release of flash Manufacturing and Services PMI for both France and Germany, European stock markets fell. This drop occurred before the PMI regarding the Euro zone was released. Flash Manufacturing and Services PMIs are predicted to decrease to 51.7 and 52.7 respectively. Euro Stoxx 50 declined by 0.27%, DAX was down by 0.44% and FTSE 100 lost 0.26%.
Data from Markit business survey revealed that Manufacturing PMI rose from 52.0 to 52.9, while Services PMI hit its highest value in thirty seven months, increasing from 54.6 to 56.6. Both indexes had been forecast shy of their actual values. These values were buoyed by low interest rates and CPI.
In France, manufacturing sector contracted to the lowest level in seven months. Manufacturing PMI dropped from 48.2 in June to 47.6 in July. It had been forecast to be at 48.1, therefore being inferior to what analysts expected. However, the Services PMI increased from 48.2 to 50.4 this month. Values over 50 show industry growth, if below, they show contraction.
Asian stocks were traded close to a six-year high as the Chinese manufacturing gauge reached its strongest level in 18 months. The MSCI Asia Pacific was little changed at 148.49, but the gauge closed yesterday at its highest level since 2008. Shanghai Composite Index went up 1.3% while Hang Seng China Enterprises Index increased 1%. Japan's Topix dropped 0.2% and
The Australian Dollar advanced as its main trading partner China had positive results in the preliminary PMI and showed a possible turnaround for the economy. The AUD/USD pair gained 0.13% and was trading at 0.9469 after the data had come out. Simultaneously, the NZD/USD went down 0.60% to 0.8621 after the RBNZ raised its OCR to 3.5%.
Gold reached its lowest level in the last week as an increase in equities faltered demand for alternative investments. Immediate delivery dropped 0.7% to $1,294.98 an ounce, the lowest level since July 16. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. expressed an expectation of gold reaching $1,050 by the end of the year as the growth of the U.S. economy accelerates.
The Canadian Dollar reached its highest level during the last week after the released economic data. Retail sales added 0.7% to C$42 billion from a record rise in automobile purchases. CAD/USD went up 0.3% to 1.0711, the biggest since July 18. The Canadian Dollar has been fluctuating between a four and a half year low and a six-month high during
Most of China's provinces reported boost in the economic growth in the second quarter of the year. Twenty out of twenty five entities that experienced growth in the beginning of the year indicated a pickup. Nationwide the first-quarter and the first-half figures were even at 7.4%, whereas expansion was 0.1% quicker in the second quarter.
The S&P 500 closed at a record high as Apple Inc earnings provided both a 2.6% boost to its stock and played a part in the 0.18% gain of the index. The market index finished the session at 1,987.01 and set a new record by beating the July 3 high. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones fell 0.16% with Boeing weighing it down and the Nasdaq Biotech
Unexpectedly Japan's exports in June went down, further expanding the nation's current trade deficit after the increase in sales-tax in April. Exports dropped 2% from the previous year, opposed to the forecast of an increase of 1%. Outward shipments also fell by 1.7% in volume, displaying the Yen's 16% decrease versus the Dollar since Japan's Prime Minister failed to boost
New Zealand's currency reached the weakest level in nine months as the RBNZ issued a warning of the potential "sizeable decrease" in the Kiwi. The New Zealand's Dollar depreciated by at least 0.9% against all 16 major counterparts. The currency dropped 1.3% to 85.85 U.S. cents and slipped to NZ$1.1013 per Australian Dollar.
As China's manufacturing indicator was at its highest in one and a half years the outlook for reaching the 7.5% growth target looks positive. The PMI came out at 52.0 suggesting expansion and exceeding the 51.0 estimate. Furthermore, the Yuan also gained with these news suggesting that the Chinese stimulus plan is having an impact on growth.
Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England, states that keeping interest rates low for a long time may cause a bubble in housing prices and there is a possibility of a recession returning. As the UK's economy is coming back to what is considered to be normal, production is finally at pre-crisis level and inflation is close to the