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Forex News – Yen holds firm as GDP miss is seen as one-off

Posted on June 8, 2017 at 8:12 am GMT

The Japanese economy grew at a far slower pace during the first quarter of the year than initially anticipated. Analysts interpreted the decline as a one-off, attributing it to an adjustment in oil inventories that would not hamper growth going forward. Delving into the GDP numbers, the world’s third largest economy grew at a quarterly rate of 0.3% during the first quarter of the year. This compares negatively to the preliminary estimate of 0.5% growth and forecasts expecting an upward [..]

Forex News – Australia’s 26 years without a recession remains intact; Aussie dollar at more than one-month high

Posted on June 7, 2017 at 9:25 am GMT

The Australian economy showed signs of resilience as GDP figures for the first quarter of the year showed the nation expanding during the quarter. This comes after a number of analysts started doubting the country’s ability to grow, revising their estimates downwards after the balance of payments figures the day before projected a big negative drag on GDP from a decline in net exports. Despite threats to the economy such as high household debt and stagnant wages limiting consumer spending, [..]

Forex News – Aussie gains as RBA keeps rates unchanged; focus shifts to tomorrow’s GDP report

Posted on June 6, 2017 at 9:13 am GMT

During today’s monthly policy meeting, the Reserve Bank of Australia announced its decision to leave its benchmark interest rate unchanged at the record low of 1.5%. This was widely expected by analysts given the central bank’s guidance, as policy makers projected a steady outlook for the remainder of the year. The Australian economy has been giving mixed signals recently – despite stronger jobs growth in recent months, subdued wage growth combined with rising household debt are raising concerns of weaker [..]

Forex News – Weak ISM non-manufacturing PMI weighs on dollar

Posted on June 5, 2017 at 7:57 pm GMT

The dollar weakened against the yen after US data showed activity in the services sector slowed in May while factory orders fell. The Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) non-manufacturing PMI index printed a reading of 56.9 for the month of May, missing expectations. Economists had forecast the index to decline slightly to 57 last month from 57.5 in April. The prices paid index fell from 57.6% in April to 49.2% in May, suggesting a moderation in cost pressures. It was [..]

Week Ahead – Uncertainty ahead of UK election, ECB guidance shift and Aussie GDP concern

Posted on June 2, 2017 at 3:23 pm GMT

A number of key risk events next week could cause some volatility in financial markets with the UK general election taking centre stage. The European Central Bank will also be in focus as it meets to possibly discuss removing its easing bias from its policy statement. In contrast, the Reserve Bank of Australia may find it hard to maintain an upbeat outlook at its meeting on signs that growth in Australia is slowing. In terms of data, GDP figures for [..]

Forex News – Australian dollar pushed lower by weaker-than-expected capital expenditure data and weak Chinese PMI

Posted on June 1, 2017 at 10:12 am GMT

The Australian dollar fell to its lowest level since mid-May early on Thursday after initially gaining following domestic data on retail sales and capital expenditure. Disappointing details in the data combined with softer Chinese manufacturing PMI data, caused the aussie to tumble against the greenback. China is a major trading partner for Australia. The Australian Bureau of Statistics published data showing retail sales rebounded sharply from March’s 0.2% drop, to rise 1.0% month-on-month in April, well above the 0.3% increase expected [..]

Forex News – Eurozone inflation slows in May; highlights need for continued ECB stimulus

Posted on May 31, 2017 at 1:17 pm GMT

Eurozone inflation slowed in May to its lowest level so far this year, which would highlight European Central Bank President Mario Draghi’s call for continued monetary stimulus. The rise in consumer prices on a year-on-year basis slowed to 1.4% in May from 1.9% in April, which was slightly below market expectations of a 1.5% reading. The softer first estimate of headline CPI was mainly due to lower increases of energy and food costs. Energy prices increased by 4.6% year-on-year in [..]

Forex News – China PMIs point to steady growth; yuan hits 6½-month high

Posted on May 31, 2017 at 10:42 am GMT

Activity in China’s manufacturing sector expanded at a faster pace than expected in May, easing concerns of a sharp slowdown in the second quarter. The official manufacturing PMI by the National Bureau of Statistics held steady at 51.2 in May, beating forecasts of 51.0. The non-manufacturing PMI was also released today, and rose to 54.5 in May from 54.0 in March. The manufacturing sector has now grown for 10 straight months as it recovers from the 2015-16 downturn when weak [..]

Week Ahead – US jobs report in focus after cautious Fed minutes

Posted on May 26, 2017 at 3:50 pm GMT

The main focus of the coming week will be the non-farm payrolls numbers out of the US as a positive report could pave the way for a June rate hike by the Fed. Japan will also have a busy data week, while Eurozone flash inflation and UK PMIs will be important too. Eurozone flash CPI to show inflation falling It will be a very quiet start to the week as Chinese, UK and US markets will be shut for a [..]

Forex News – UK GDP unexpectedly revised lower; Sterling drifts lower

Posted on May 25, 2017 at 10:40 am GMT

Economic growth in the UK was unexpectedly revised lower in the first quarter of 2017, as industrial production and services rose by less than initially estimated. Quarter-on-quarter growth was revised down from 0.3% in the preliminary reading to 0.2% in the second estimate, giving a year-on-year rate of 2.0%. Expectations were for both the quarterly and annual figures to remain unrevised at 0.3% and 2.1% respectively. They compare with growth of 0.7% q/q and 1.9% y/y in the final three [..]

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