Better than expected figures in the US: existing home sales advanced 2% to 5.59 million, beyond 5.44 predicted. The Philly Fed Manufacturing Index rose to 8.3 points, also beating predictions. Only the less important leading index slid by 0.2%. All in all, it’s a good data release.
The US is only marginally higher.
US existing home sales were expected to stand at 5.44 million in July, a small drop from 5.49 million in June (before revisions). The Philly Fed Manufacturing Index for August carried expectations for a rise to 7 points from 5.7 beforehand. The CB Leading Index was expected to advance by 0.2% after 0.6% in the previous read.
The dollar continued to struggle against the major currencies following the meeting minutes yesterday. However, it did look stronger against the commodity currencies.
- EUR/USD traded around 1.1170. The euro remains a funding currency and the Chinese and US worries fuel it.
- GBP/USD was around 1.5670, hit by weaker retail sales in the UK.
- USD/JPY flirted with 123.80.
- USD/CAD was around 1.31, enjoying the better than expected wholesale sales.
- AUD/USD traded around 0.7320
- NZD/USD moved higher, to 0.6615.
Earlier, jobless claims came out at 277K, within expectations, and not rocking the boat.
While the September Fed decision is still an open discussion, the chances for a historic rate hike seem lower at the moment, as the Federal Reserve doesn’t seem to be convinced that the US economy is strong enough for tightening.
Tomorrow’s economic calendar is light for the US, with only Markit’s flash manufacturing PMI on the list. But next week provides quite a few interesting data points.
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