The past week was packed with several high-impact economic data releases that affected global markets. From inflation trends to business activity indicators, traders had plenty of information to process. Here’s a recap of the key macroeconomic updates:
China:
● At 2:00 a.m. GMT, Industrial Production (year-over-year, April) came in at 6.4% (forecast 6.5%, previous 6.0%).
● At 2:00 a.m. GMT, Retail Sales (year-over-year, April) were reported at 5.1%, below the expected 6.0% and the previous 5.9%.
Eurozone:
● At 9:00 a.m. GMT, Consumer Price Index (CPI, year-over-year, April) stood at 2.2%, matching both the forecast and the previous reading.
Australia:
● At 4:30 a.m. GMT, the Reserve Bank of Australia announced its May interest rate decision, cutting the rate to 3.85% (forecast 3.85%, prior 4.10%).
Canada:
● At 12:30 p.m. GMT, Headline CPI (year-over-year, April) came in at 2.5%, exceeding both the forecast of 2.3% and the previous 2.3%.
Comment: Higher-than-expected inflation could add pressure on the Bank of Canada to maintain tight monetary policy.
Eurozone:
● At 2:00 p.m. GMT, Consumer Confidence Index (May) improved to -15.2 (forecast -16.0, previous -16.6).
United Kingdom:
● At 6:00 a.m. GMT, CPI (year-over-year, April) rose sharply to 3.5% (forecast 3.3%, previous 2.6%).
Comment: Significantly higher inflation may prompt a more hawkish stance from the Bank of England.
Canada:
● At 12:30 p.m. GMT, New House Price Index (month-over-month, April) fell to -0.4%, missing expectations of a 0.1% rise (previous 0.0%).
United States:
● At 2:30 p.m. GMT, Crude Oil Inventories showed an increase of 1.328 million barrels, well above the expected -0.900 million (previous 3.454 million).
Eurozone:
● At 8:00 a.m. GMT, Manufacturing PMI (May) was reported at 48.4 (forecast 49.2, previous 49.0).
● At the same time Services PMI (May) fell to 48.9 (forecast 50.4, previous 50.1).
United Kingdom:
● At 8:30 a.m. GMT, Manufacturing PMI (May) came in at 45.1, underperforming against the forecast of 46.2 (previous 45.4).
● At 8:30 a.m. GMT, Services PMI (May) rose to 50.2, slightly above the forecast of 50.0 (previous 49.0).
United States:
● 1At 12:30 p.m. GMT, Initial Jobless Claims came in at 227,000 (forecast 230,000, previous 229,000).
● At 1:45 p.m. GMT, Manufacturing PMI (May) jumped to 52.3, beating the 49.9 forecast and up from 50.2.
Comment: A strong surprise to the upside, suggesting strong expansion in the US manufacturing sector.
United States:
● At 2:00 p.m. GMT, New Home Sales for April are scheduled for release. The forecast stands at 694,000, down from the prior 724,000.
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