Core durable goods orders fell by 0.6% in April, far worse than expected. Also the wider figure fell short by rising only 0.2%. Jobless claims came out within expectations at 370K, a minor slide from 372K reported last week.
EUR/USD is very marginally lower, and also USD/JPY is lower – a risk averse reaction favoring “safe haven” currencies: the dollar and the yen, although it’s minimal so far.
Update: EUR/USD is now rising again, yet the moves are quite limited. The common currency also awaits a speech by Mario Draghi, the president of the ECB. 1.2587 caps the pair so far.
Jobless claims were expected to edge up from 370K (according to the initial report) to 372K this time. Durable goods orders were predicted to correct the sharp 4% fall and rise by 0.5% this time. Core orders, that dropped by 0.8%, were forecast to make an even bigger correction and rise by 1.1%.
Markit, which is known for its European PMIs, publishes a manufacturing PMI for the US economy for the first time. The initial estimate for May is due at 13:00.
Yesterday, the release of new home sales was the trigger for a dollar storm. The result wasn’t far from expectations, but the better-than-predicted figure was the match that set the fire, and sent EUR/USD to a 22 month low.