US durable goods orders dropped by 1%. They were expected to drop 0.7% in January after plunging 4.2% in December. Core orders surprised and rose 1.1%. They were predicted to tick down 0.1% after a drop of 1.3% in January. Jobless claims carried expectations of remaining at similar levels to 336K last week (before revisions), but they disappointed with a rise to 348K. Also other core measures are better than expected.
Before the publication of this bulk of data, EUR/USD traded around 1.3560, GBP/USD around 1.6640 and USD/JPY was around 101.85. The dollar is slightly stronger after the publication.
A “risk off” atmosphere controlled the markets before the publication, with the yen emerging as the winner. Tension around the Ukraine and the revolt in the Crimea peninsula grabbed headlines.
Better than expected US new home sales also supported the dollar, in addition to the safe haven flows. The 9.6% jump was a huge surprise after many weak figures coming from the world’s No. 1 economy.
Later on, Fed Chair Janet Yellen will give the second part of her testimony in Washington, and then the shift moves to Europe, with the all important inflation figures.
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