Existing home sales were predicted to rise from 4.94 (revised up from 4.92) to 5.02 million (annualized) this time. The actual figure is 4.98, within expectations. The Philly Fed Manufacturing Index was predicted to advance from -12.5 to -1.6 points, staying in negative territory. However, it surprised to the upside and rose to +2 points. Also the CB Leading Index exceeded expectations by rising 0.5% instead of 0.3% that was predicted.
EUR/USD traded around 1.29 before the publication, within the 1.2880 to 1.2960 range. It is now ticking lower.
Earlier, jobless claims beat expectations once again and remained in the 330s. The rose from a revised 334K to 336K, below expectations of 343K. Apart from now, these levels were last seen in January 2008.
In addition, Markit’s initial Manufacturing PMI for March ticked higher from 54.3 to 54.9 points, a bit below 55.1 that was expected. It’s important to note that the employment component of this indicator rose.
Further reading: ECB imposes bailout deadline on Cyprus – Euro Exit Close?
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