Yesterday, the US dollar slightly strengthened against a basket of major currencies. The dollar index (#DX) closed the trading session in the positive zone (+0.17%). The euro was under pressure after statements by the ECB representatives. Some politicians believe that the current economic forecasts of the Central Bank are too optimistic. At the moment, financial market participants have taken a wait-and-see attitude before the publication of important economic releases. The Fed’s Beige Book, which will help investors to assess the state of the economic situation in each of the 12 federal districts of the United States, will be published today. We also expect data on the US trade balance.
The British pound ignored fairly positive statistics on the UK labor market. Thus, average earnings including bonuses increased by 3.5% in February, as experts expected. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3.9%. The number of new jobs increased by 179.0K, which is higher than the forecasted value of 173.0K. At the same time, jobless claims counted to 28.3K in March instead of the expected value of 20.0K. The British pound was under pressure after the Guardian reported that negotiations between Theresa May and the opposition Labour Party regarding Brexit came to the deadlock. The Labour Party denied this information.
Today, during the Asian trading session, weak economic data from New Zealand have been published. Thus, the consumer price index (q/q) rose by only 0.1% in the first quarter, while experts expected growth by 0.3%. Optimistic data were also published in China. GDP (y/y) grew by 6.4% in the first quarter instead of 6.3%. Industrial production also increased by 8.5% in March, although experts forecasted growth by 5.6%. Today, we expect important economic statistics from the UK, the Eurozone and Canada.
The “black gold” prices have been growing again and reached annual highs. At the moment, futures for the WTI crude oil are testing the mark of $64.50 per barrel. At 17:30 (GMT+3:00), a report on crude oil inventories will be published in the US.
Market Indicators
- Yesterday, the bullish sentiment was observed in the US stock market: #SPY (+0.07%), #DIA (+0.27%), #QQQ (+0.34%).
- The 10-year US government bonds yield has been growing. Currently, the figure is at the level of 2.59-2.61%.
The news feed for 2019.04.17:
- Consumer price index in the UK at 11:30 (GMT+3:00);
- Data on inflation in the Eurozone at 12:00 (GMT+3:00);
- Data on inflation in Canada at 15:30 (GMT+3:00);
- Fed’s “Beige Book” at 21:00 (GMT+3:00).
