Forex News
Swedish Services PMI picked up in April
The service sector PMI rose sharply in April to 57.8, which together with the outcome in December 2013 was the highest reading since April 2011.
RBA Keeps Cash Rate Unchanged; Guides To Stable Rates Again
The Reserve Bank of Australia left its cash rate unchanged on Tuesday as widely expected and once again said that the exchange rate remains high by historical standards even as it maintained its guidance to a period of stable rates.
AUD/USD Analysis
Aussie also witnessed a relatively muted start to the session today, opening at $0.9274, following a $0.9257 to $0.9279 range in the US last night. Attention was all on the RBA decision,
Trade Balance, March – Good tidings – four trade surpluses in a row!
The March trade surplus was slimmer than markets expected, coming in at $731mn. Market consensus was for a surplusof $1,000mn.
Building Approvals Take a Breather But Lots of Construction Coming
Today’s 3.5% fall in residential building approvals was concentrated in the volatile multi-unit segment which fell by 7.5%. Note that March’s total approvals, at 15.9k, are still 20% higher than a year ago.
RBA meets on Tuesday and should leave the cash rate at 2½%
The focus is increasingly on the Budget. But there are some monetarypolicy markers to negotiate first. The RBA meets on 6 May and thequarterly Statement on Monetary Policy (SMP) is released on 9 May.
US Data React
Largely positive April job figures solidified expectations that the Federal Reserve will carry large-scale asset purchases to conclusion this fall and that the first short-term interest rate hikes will follow sometime in the first half of next year.
Solid Rise in Employment Signals Better Growth Ahead
Employment rose 288,000 in April with gains broad-based across the private sector. The unemployment rateplummeted to 6.3 percent, but came amid another drop in the labor force. Hourly wages were flat.
Weekly Focus: ECB hesitates
Market movers ahead • Rising money market rates and a stronger euro are probably not enough to prompt a rate cut or other easing measures at this week’s ECB meeting, although we cannot rule this out.
Sweden: Manufacturing PMI stable
The April PMI report for the manufacturing industry was very much as expected. The PMI edged down to 55.5 from 56.5 in March.
Rising import prices pushing PPI higher
PPI rose by a robuste 0.9% in QI 2014, to be 2.5% higher over the year.
Q1 Labour Market Data Preview ‑ Labour market recovery on track
We expect continue employment growth, in line with general economic recovery.