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Trade was quiet with London closed for a U.K. public holiday. USD-JPY dipped below 102.00 for the first time in nearly three weeks as the yen found support amid a risk-off theme in Asia following a sub-expectations final reading of China HSBC-Markit manufacturing PMI for April, which came in at 48.1 versus the expected 48.4. Read more
USD-JPY dipped below 102.00 for the first time in nearly three weeks as the yen found support amid a risk-off theme in Asia following a sub-expectations final reading of China HSBC-Markit manufacturing PMI for April, which came in at 48.1 versus the expected 48.4. Read more
The big monthly data for April reported this past week was the big payrolls number and big drop in the unemployment rate. The labor force declined by nearly a million, which the BLS said was because of a lack of new entrants in the past month,which is a little strange. Also for April, motor vehicle sales declined slightly m/m, and have generally been flat for nearly a year. Read more
The biggest news events this week came from the US, starting with the Fed announcing a further reduction in its asset purchase program. After noting the US economy is still expanding -- albeit against some moderate headwinds -- they announced: Beginning in May, the Committee will add to its holdings of agency mortgage-backed securities at a pace of $20 billion per month rather than $25 billion per month, and will add to its holdings of longer-term Treasury securities at a pace of $25 billion per month rather than $30 billion per month. Read more
The dollar rallied broadly after the much better April NFP print. Treasury yields moved higher, as U.S. equities found a modest bid as well. The greenback bumped along near its highs through mid morning, though from there, gave back all its gains, and then some. Read more
The dollar was firmer as markets discount upside risk to today's payrolls report, with the whisper number pegging a 250k rise versus the median for 210k. EUR-USD fell to a 1.3852 low, breaching Thursday's low on route, though this is still barely more than 40 pips below yesterday's high. Read more
The USD firmed slightly in quiet trade in the pre-European open Asia session, with staffing levels depleted by people taking the 'bridge weekend' vacation break following yesterday's May Day holiday. Market participants were also sitting on their hands ahead of the U.S. Read more
The dollar firmed marginally versus the European majors, and lost some ground to the yen in N.Y. trade on Thursday. Economic data wasn't overly constructive for sentiment, as jobless claims were higher than forecast, and construction spending missed the mark as well. Read more
This morning's personal income and spending report for March serve as a nice juxtaposition to yesterday's GDP report. One of the relationships I track is real retail sales vs. real PCE's. In virtually every business cycle since World War 2, retail sales started out stronger than PCE's, but then faded later on and continuing into the next recession. Read more
Cable logged fresh major-trend highs while and a 20 pip lift in EUR-USD was sufficient to yield a three-week high in thin trade. Many European nations are off for May-1 public holidays, and several Asia centres were also closed for business. Cable rallied to 1.6923 in the wake of stellar manufacturing PMI data out of the U.K., though this was offset by sub-expectations mortgage lending numbers and a particularly disappointing business lending decline, which will cause much chagrin for U.K. Read more
