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Forex News – Australia’s May unemployment report delivers mixed picture

Posted on June 12, 2014 at 11:53 am GMT

Australia’s unemployment rate stayed constant at 5.8% during May, defying predictions of a rise to 5.9%. It was the third month in a row that the unemployment rate held steady, showing a more or less stable economy and labor market. The news on total employment or the total number of jobs in the economy was less encouraging. There was a reduction of almost 5,000 jobs as opposed to the creation of 10,000 jobs that economists were expecting. Fortunately most of [..]

Forex News – UK unemployment falls lowest since end-2008 but wage growth weak

Posted on June 11, 2014 at 12:06 pm GMT

The news that UK unemployment dropped to 6.6% during the three months to April was another indication that the UK economic recovery is continuing strong. Economists were expecting an unemployment rate of 6.7%, while the previous month’s figure was 6.8%. It was the lowest unemployment rate of the past 2 ½ years. There was also positive news on the claimant count or the number of unemployed claiming benefits, which fell by 27.4 thousand or slightly more than economists expected. Where [..]

Forex News – Chinese inflation climbs but not a worry for now

Posted on June 10, 2014 at 12:11 pm GMT

News that Chinese consumer price inflation for May came in slightly higher-than-expected at 2.5% year-on-year was a positive development, as it shows that the economy is stabilizing. Looking at the consumer inflation subcomponents, food prices were the main reason that was pushing up inflation, as they increased by a larger-than-average 4.1%. Pork prices for example made a significant 5.6% gain month-on-month during May, after falling 6.6% in April and 7.1% in March. Excluding volatile food prices, inflation was running at [..]

Forex News – Friday’s strong US employment report shows Fed will stay the course

Posted on June 9, 2014 at 10:28 am GMT

The US May employment report broadly matched expectations as nonfarm payrolls increased by 217 thousand, right in line with economists’ consensus of a 218 thousand rise. The unemployment rate remained flat at 6.3% compared to analysts’ call that it would rise to 6.4%. Except for January, all months this year resulted in job creation of more than 200 thousand, which is a very good performance. With this pace of job creation, the US in May finally managed to recoup all [..]

Forex news – US retail sales & UK and Australian employment reports are highlights of next week

Posted on June 6, 2014 at 1:07 pm GMT

Next week is expected to be quieter and the market will most likely start the week by digesting the latest ECB decisions and the US employment report. Overall, the state of the US consumer and the employment situation in Australia and the UK, will provide the main focus of attention. A whole raft of data is also expected out of China. Starting with the euro and the Eurozone, after a cliffhanger week with inflation, unemployment and the ECB decision, the [..]

Forex news – ECB cuts rates, drives deposit rate negative and prepares asset purchases

Posted on June 5, 2014 at 2:03 pm GMT

The news that the ECB cut its interest rates was an important step in combating low inflation and the threat of deflation. Inflation has been steadily dropping in the Eurozone since the fall of 2011, when it had reached 3%. There were some hopes that Eurozone inflation was heading up in the right direction after April’s release of a 0.7% year-on-year rate – compared to March’s 0.5% rate. However, during May, Eurozone inflation dropped back to 0.5%, which was a [..]

Forex News – Australian GDP tops expectations but aussie meets with resistance at 93 cents

Posted on June 4, 2014 at 12:19 pm GMT

The news that Australian GDP grew by a strong 1.1% during the first quarter (quarter-on-quarter) was an affirmation that the economy was doing very well. The performance represented an acceleration from the previous quarter’s growth rate of 0.8% and was also higher than the consensus expectation of 1.0% growth by economists. It was the fastest quarterly growth rate since the fourth quarter of 2011. A major reason behind the faster growth experienced in Australia is the boom in the export [..]

Forex News – Eurozone inflation misses forecasts but unemployment also dips; euro climbs

Posted on June 3, 2014 at 12:14 pm GMT

Today’s inflation and unemployment statistics for the Eurozone were some of the last economic data that was released ahead of the June 5 ECB Governing Council meeting. Flash inflation missed expectations by coming in at 0.5% compared to 0.7% in April. 0.5% matches the March inflation estimate and is the lowest inflation rate since October of 2009 when the Eurozone actually experienced deflation. Core inflation, which excludes energy, food, alcohol and tobacco was at 0.7%. A near 5-year low for [..]

Forex News – Chinese manufacturing PMI shows China avoiding hard landing

Posted on June 2, 2014 at 1:08 pm GMT

The improvement in the National Bureau of Statistics manufacturing PMI for May was welcome news for most China watchers. The index rose to 50.8, compared to expectations of a rise to 50.7 and previous month’s reading of 50.4. It was the highest level for the index in 2014, although the improvement has been modest and the index remains too close to the 50 contraction / expansion dividing line for comfort. What the data does confirm though is that at least [..]

Forex News – All eyes on the Eurozone as inflation data and ECB decision loom

Posted on May 30, 2014 at 1:09 pm GMT

Next week the primary focus will be on the Eurozone as major data as well as monetary policy decisions are expected that could move the euro significantly. There will also be a monetary policy decision out of the UK and some business confidence surveys that could move the pound. In the United States, as is usual at the beginning of each month, the ISM business sentiment surveys for manufacturing and services and the all-important nonfarm payrolls will attract a lot [..]

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