Britain's Rightmove property portal announced on Monday that the UK's average property prices grew 1.3% month-on-month in April. Meanwhile, the annual rate declined to 7.3%, following March's 7.6%. Nevertheless, the average UK property prices reached a record high in terms of cash in April, at 307,033 pounds.
The major European stock markets closed Friday's trading session in red. Germany's DAX Index lost around 0.4%, finishing at 10,051.94, and Britain's FTSE 100 Index fell 0.3%, ending at 6,345.23 points. Meanwhile, France's CAC 40 Index dropped 0.4% and the Euro Stoxx 50 Index declined 0.2%, closing at 4,494.70 and 3,053.72 points respectively.
The observed indexes had another dynamic week, packing the second half of the period with wide moves. One of the most hectic currencies was the Loonie, whose index surged to a one year high due to skyrocketed oil prices which managed to grow by 4%. The Aussie Index was another active measure, as it suffered downslide on Monday, fueled by
The University of Michigan's preliminary Consumer Confidence Index dropped to 89.7 in April, following March's 91.0 points and registering the worst result since September 2015. Until today, analysts expected the Index to improve to 92.0 points. Meanwhile, the survey's barometer of actual economic conditions fell from 81.5 to 79.6 and the gauge of current conditions declined from 105.6 to 105.4
China's industrial production grew 5.8% year-on-year in the Q1 2016, according to the data released on Friday. Moreover, March's industrial output jumped 6.8% year-over-year, posting the largest increase since June and surpassing analysts' forecast of a 6.0% rise. Meanwhile, the country's GDP increased 6.7% in the Q1, following the previous quarter's 6.8% growth.
The Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry announced on Friday that the country's industrial production dropped less-than-expected. On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, Japan's industrial output declined 5.2% in February, compared to the 6.2% drop originally reported. Meanwhile, the annual IPI decreased 1.2%, compared to the same period in the previous year.
Iranian crude exports grew by 600,000 barrels per day in the fourth month of the year. According to Bloomberg's tanker-tracking data, about 28.8 million barrels of crude oil, or 2 million per day, left Iran's ports during the first two weeks of April, following March's daily rate of 1.45 million barrels.
European equity markets closed Thursday's trading session on a positive note. The Stoxx 600 Index gained 0.3%, whereas France's CAC Index and Germany's DAX Index added 0.5% and 0.7% respectively. Meanwhile, Britain's FTSE 100 Index finished flat, after the BoE's latest decision to keep interest rates on hold.
On Thursday, the US Department of Labor presented its data for the week ending April 9. The number of applications for unemployment aid dropped from 267,000 to 253,000, exceeding analysts' expectations of 269,000. It was the 58th consecutive week that initial jobless claims remained below 300,000, registering the longest period since 1973.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics announced on Thursday that the US CPI increased 0.1% on a monthly basis in March, whereas analysts expected a 0.2% reading. Meanwhile, the annual Index grew 0.9% in March, surpassing the forecast off a 1.0% jump and following the previous month's 1.0% result.
Europe's major stock markets closed Wednesday's trading session higher, buoyed by a rise in mining and banking stocks. Germany's DAX 30 Index gained 2.7%, Britain's FTSE Index increased 1.9% and France's CAC added 3.3% by the end of today's session. Moreover, the Euro Stoxx 50 Index and Italy's FTSE MIB Index grew 2.3% and 4.1% respectively.
China's Ministry of Commerce announced on Wednesday that the country's exports showed a surprising 11.5% year-over-year increase in the third month of the year, registering the first rise since June and the largest percent increase since February 2015. Nevertheless, analysts remained cautious about China's recovery.
The Greenback was seen trading at $1.1325 against the Euro on the NYSE on Wednesday, as soon as the US Census Bureau released its slightly disappointing figures for the previous month. Nevertheless, the US Dollar improved its situation on the market by 15:00, touching its new intraday high of $1.1280.
The US Census Bureau released the Advance Monthly Sales for Retail and Food Services report on Wednesday. Total US retail sales dropped 0.3% in March, surpassing analysts' forecast of a 0.1% rise and registering a 1.7% year-on-year increase. Meanwhile, the prior month's 0.1% decline was revised to a 0% change.
The IMF worsened its global growth outlook to 3.2%, following January's 3.4% forecast. Meanwhile, during the first hour of the North American trading session on Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average grew 19.4 and the S&P 500 Index added 2.1, reaching 17,575.79 and 2,044.08 points respectively, whereas the Nasdaq Composite Index lost around 2.5 to 4,830.86 points.
The US Department of Labour announced on Tuesday that the country's import prices added 0.2% in March, following February's 0.4% drop and registering its first increase since June 2015. Moreover, it was the biggest jump since May 2015. Nevertheless, analysts expected to see a 1.0% rise in the third month of the year.
The Consumer Price Index grew 0.5% in March from a year earlier, following February's 0.3% and reaching its highest level since December 2014. Until today, analysts expected the rate to show a 0.3% rise. Meanwhile, the CPI jumped 0.4% month-on-month in March, surpassing economists' forecast for a 0.3% increase and following a 0.2% drop registered in February.
The Euro fell sharply against the US Dollar below the $1.14 level on the New York Stock Exchange on Monday, after earlier touching its intraday high of $1.1450 on the London Stock Exchange. The common currency lost 0.15%, trading at $1.1390 during the North American trading session by 13:00 GMT.
Europe's largest equity markets closed Monday's trading session in green. Germany's DAX 30 Index gained around 0.8%, finishing at 9,695.68, whereas Britain's FTSE 100 Index added almost 0.1%, closing at 6,208.05 points. In the meantime, France's CAC 40 Index increased 0.3%, ending at 4,317.79, while the Euro Stoxx 50 Index jumped 0.5%, finishing at 2,927.78 points.
The Australian Dollar gained 0.9% against the US Dollar, trading at $0.7614 on the NYSE by 15:26 GMT on Monday, after touching its lowest level of $0.7528 on an intraday basis during the Asian trading session. Meanwhile, the Greenback's Index traded on its lowest level of 97.03 points since August 2015.
Crude oil futures traded higher during the European trading session on Monday. Brent grew $0.79, trading at $42.73 per barrel by 15:18 GMT, after briefly touching $43.06, its highest since December 7. In the meantime, WTI gained $0.65, trading at $40.37 per barrel and touching its three-week high of $40.75.
According to the data released by China's National Bureau of Statistics on Monday, the Consumer Price Index added 2.3% year-on-year in March, below a 2.5% forecast by analysts and in line with the previous month's 2.3%. The price of food jumped 7.6% in March from a year earlier, posting the biggest increase.
On Friday, the US and Germany released their positive forecast for global oil demand growth, sending oil prices higher. Brent added 5.3%, trading at $41.53 per barrel, while WTI increased 6.2% to $39.55 by 15:30 GMT. Thus, the Dow Jones Industrial Average Index gained around 0.5% to 17,630.58 points, whereas the S&P 500 Index raised almost 0.6% to 2,053.88, and
According to the data released on Friday, Britain's industrial output dropped 0.5% in February from the same period last year, registering its biggest fall since August 2013. Moreover, the Office for National Statistics announced that the country's manufacturing output lost 1.1% between January and February, and 1.8% from February of last year. The transportation equipment manufacturing subsector declined 2.9% on