Month-over-month the core US Consumer Price Index came in at 0.2% on a seasonally adjusted basis in May, in line with the market forecast and April's reading. On an annual basis, the core CPI rose to 2.2%, following the 2.1% reading seen in the previous month and meeting analysts' expectations.
According to the latest news released on Thursday, the Bank of England left its key interest rates unchanged at their record low of 0.5%. In addition, the Committee voted to maintain the stock of purchased assets financed by the issuance of central bank reserves at 375 billion pounds.
US stock markets opened Wednesday's trading session with gains, ahead of the FOMC meeting due later today. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index added 0.20%, opening at 2,080.02, whereas the Dow Jones Industrial Average Index gained 0.23% to open at 17,716.20, and the Nasdaq Composite Index grew 0.25% to start at 4,855.81 points.
Industrial production decreased the seasonally adjusted 0.4% in May from the prior month's downward-revised 0.6% increase, whereas analysts predicted the 0.1% fall. Meanwhile, capacity utilisation dropped to 74.9% on a seasonally adjusted basis, missing the 75.2% market forecast and April's downward revised figure of 75.3%.
In May, seasonally-adjusted consumer prices grew 0.4% from the previous month's 0.2%, whereas analysts anticipated an increase to 0.3%, the US Department of Labour said on Wednesday. On an annual basis, the US PPI dropped 0.1% on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, in line with analysts' estimates but lower than April's 0.0% reading.
According to the New York Federal Reserve, the Empire State Manufacturing Index for June rose to 6.01, following the 9.02 fall seen in the previous month, when it dropped for the first time since February. In the meantime, analysts expected to see an acceleration to -4.0 in the sixth month of the year.
Britain's unemployment rate dropped to 5.0% in the quarter to April, whereas analysts expected the reading to came in at 5.1% as in March. Meanwhile, the number of people filing for unemployment benefits fell by 400 in May, while the previous month's figure was revised up to an increase of 6,400 from an originally reported decline of 2,400.
Europe's equity markets closed in the red on Tuesday amid Brexit fears. Germany DAX 30 Index finished 1.50% lower at 9,512.71, whereas Britain's FTSE 100 Index lost 2.01%, closing at 5,923.20 points. Meanwhile, France's CAC 40 Index dropped 2.32% to 4,129.06, and the pan-European Euro Stoxx 50 Index declined 2.02%, finishing at 2,795.97 points.
Major US stock markets opened in the red amid falling oil prices and Brexit fears. At the session start, Standard & Poor's 500 Index dropped 0.13%, opening at 2,076.38 points. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average Index declined 0.15% to start at 17,705.81, and the Nasdaq Composite Index lost 0.01% to open at 4,848.05 points.
Official data showed on Tuesday that the Euro zone's industrial production grew 1.1% month-over-month in April, following the 0.7% drop seen in the previous month and the 0.8% increase forecast. On an annual basis, the common-currency bloc's industrial output rose 2.0% from March's unrevised 0.2%, whereas analysts predicted the 1.4% increase.
Britain's CPI grew 0.3% year-over-year in May, in line with April's reading but lower than the 0.4% forecast. In the meantime, the country's PPI input increased 2.6% in May, following both April's and predicted readings of 0.9%. In addition, annual RPI rose 1.4% last month, compared to the previous month's 1.3% and the 1.5% market forecast.
US total retail sales grew 0.5% in May, surpassing the 0.3% market forecast and following April's unrevised 1.3% hike, the Department of Commerce announced on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the country's import prices rose 1.4% in May, compared to the upwardly revised 0.7% gain seen in the previous month and the 0.7% forecast.
Europe's stock markets closed in the negative territory on Monday with Brexit concerns weighing on sentiment. Germany's DAX 30 Index dropped 1.53%, closing at 9,684.40, while Britain's FTSE 100 Index declined 0.92%, finishing at 6,059.64 points. Meanwhile, France's CAC 40 Index lost 1.54% to 4,240.24, and the pan-European Euro Stoxx 50 Index decreased 1.67% to 2,862.39 points.
The British Pound managed to erase some of the daily losses by 14:10 GMT on the London Stock Exchange on Monday. Thus, the Sterling added about 40 pips against the US Dollar , trading at $1.4160. Still, the pair traded 0.60% lower on the day. According to the ORB poll 55% would vote to leave the European Union, whereas 45% would vote to
West Texas Intermediate traded 1.43% lower at $48.37 per barrel, whereas Brent traded down 1.46% at $49.80 per barrel by 13:45 GMT on the New York Stock Exchange on Monday. Meanwhile, gold rose 0.68%, trading at $1,284.60 per troy ounce, and silver grew 0.03%, trading at $17.335 per ounce.
Wall Street started Monday's trading session in the red zone. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index lost 0.30%, opening at 2,080.16 points. In the meantime, the Dow Jones Industrial Average Index dropped 0.36%, starting at 17,712.71, and the Nasdaq Composite index declined 0.48% to open the North American trading session at 4,864.55 points.
China's industrial output grew 6.0% year-over-year in May, unchanged from the previous month's reading and in line with the market forecast. In the meantime, the country's retail sales jumped 10.0% on an annual basis in May, falling behind the 10.1% growth rate seen in April but meeting analysts' expectations.
West Texas Intermediate traded 1.54% lower at $49.78 per barrel by 14:10 GMT on Friday on the New York Stock Exchange, whereas Brent futures traded 1.73% lower at $51.05 per barrel. In the meantime, gold jumped 0.39%, trading at $1,277.70 per troy ounce, and silver rose 0.45%, trading at $17.345 per ounce.
According to the latest news released on Friday, the Preliminary University of Michigan's Consumer Sentiment Index for the United States came in at 94.3 in June after the final 94.7 seen in the previous month. In the meantime, analysts expected the Consumer Confidence Index to come in at 94.0.
Major US stock markets opened in the negative territory on Friday. At the session start, Standard & Poor's 500 Index dropped 0.72% to 2,099.53, whereas the Dow Jones Industrial Average Index declined 0.63%, starting at 17,860.60, and the Nasdaq Composite Index lost 0.83%, opening at 4,918.62 points.
According to the latest news released by Statistics Canada on Friday, the Canadian economy generated 13,800 net new jobs in May, following the 2,100 decline seen in the previous month and surpassing the 5,000 market forecast. The data also showed that the unemployment rate dropped to 6.9% from April's 7.1%.
Europe's stock markets finished Thursday's trading session in the red, driven by lower crude oil prices and Asian equities. Germany's DAX 30 Index lost 1.08%, finishing at 10,107.80, whereas Britain's FTSE 100 Index dropped 0.88%, closing at 6,249.30 points. Meanwhile, France's CAC 40 Index declined 0.76% to 4,415.70, and the pan-European Euro Stoxx 50 Index decreased 0.68% to 2,996.50 points.
West Texas Intermediate traded 1.42% lower at $50.50 per barrel by 14:10 GMT on Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange, whereas Brent futures traded 1.26% lower at $51.85 per barrel. Meanwhile, the bullion jumped 0.35% to $1,266.70 per troy ounce, and silver rose 0.88% to $17.135 per ounce at the same time.
According to the latest data released by the Department of Commerce on Thursday, US wholesale inventories rose 0.6% in the fourth month of the year, following March's upwardly revised 0.2% reading and surpassing the 0.1% market forecast. It was the highest result since June 2015.