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AUS Retail Sales Rise 0.5% In Australia retail sales increased 0.5% in March after a dip into negative territory in February and flat sales in January. GER Retail Sales Stay Negative in March Retail sales in Germany undershot expectations and remained in negative territory at -0.1%. The annual change for March was -6.3%. This means that consumers are feeling less confident and less willing to spend as the effects from the global slowdown finally seep into the German economy and inflation cuts into purchasing power. UK Housing Prices Fall in April, Halifax Bank of Scotlad Shows The Halifax Housing Price Index for the UK showed prices decreasing 1.3% for April, and 0.9% on an annual basis. This is old news by now as the downfall of housing prices has been evident in the UK for several months now, but will add pressure for more rate cuts from the Bank of England. US Non-farm Payroll Data "Only" Falls 20K, 80K Drop Was Expected Turning to the US, the big story of the day was April's non-farm payroll data. Economists had forecast a drop of 80K for the month and were pleasantly surprised when the economy showed that it "only" shed 20K jobs. Manufacturing jobs continued to suffer while the services providing sector improved. The results add evidence that the Federal Reserve will pause in its interest rate cutting campaign going forward. US Factory Orders Up 1.4% In a final release, US factory orders increased 1.4% in March after an upwardly revised 0.9% decline in February. Increases in shipments, unfilled orders and inventories were the main drivers of the increase. EUR/USD - Dollar Falls Below 1.54 After Payroll Data
GBP/USD - Choppy Trading Continues, Dollar Gain Today
The Pound-Dollar pair has been trading in a 350 pip trading range this week and is set to finish the week with the Dollar stronger. The pair had its biggest move on Tuesday after data from the UK revealed that mortgage lending in the country had hit the lowest level since records began being kept in 1999. The gridlock in lending has hurt the ability of potential homebuyers to finance loans, which contributed to the fall in prices seen recently. USD/JPY - Dollar Sheds Losses From Earlier In the Week, Gains Last 2 Sessions
The Dollar was also set to finish the week higher vs. the Yen, after starting the week lower. Thursday's session saw strong performance in US stock markets, and better than expected payroll data boosted the Dollar in Friday trading. Since April 10th, the Dollar-Yen pair has bounced off support at 100.50 to climb close to 500 pips to set a high above 105.50 today. Other currencies used in carry trade such the Aussie and Pound also increased today vs. the Yen. USD/CAD - Dollar Gains on Loonie, Pares Immediate Gains Following Payroll Data
The US Dollar-Canadian Dollar pair will also close out the week stronger, after the last two days of gains. The pair broke above retested yesterday's high near 1.0240 after the payroll data, but gave up those gains and was trading near its session open as of 1 PM EST. Next Week Next week starts with data from Australia including an important measure of inflation. On Monday, the US will post its ISM non-manufacturing index. Later in the week, we get interest rate decision from the Bank of England and the European Central Bank, along with employment figures from Australia, New Zealand and Canada. |
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