Economic data on Friday was mixed but the U.S. dollar was seen giving up some of the gains made from earlier in the week. Japan’s national core CPI data showed a 0.7% increase on the year, unchanged from the month before.
In the Eurozone, the preliminary manufacturing and services PMI data showed a somewhat mixed picture. While the manufacturing PMI for the Eurozone eased to 55.0, services sector surged ahead with the index rising to 55.0 up from 53.8 in the previous month.
OPEC leaders were seen reaching an agreement to raise production by an additional one million barrels per day. Crude oil prices surged on the news.
In the U.S. trading session, data from Canada dominated the headlines. Canada’s inflation increased just 0.1% on the month putting the annual inflation rate to 2.2%, which was unchanged from the month before. Retail sales however disappoint,compared to the previous month, raising doubts on whether the BoC could hike rates in July.
Looking ahead, the economic calendar for the day is quiet. The German Ifo business climate data is expected to be released. Forecasts show that business expectations might have eased to 101.9. In the U.S. trading session, new home sales data is expected to show a modest increase to 665k on the month, up from 662k registered the month before.
