European Session – Euro jumps as Markit flash PMIs point to improving recovery
January 23, 2014 2:32 pm
The euro was the big winner of today’s European session, as business surveys pointed to improving economic prospects for the Eurozone. The euro was up 0.86% against the dollar to trade at 1.3666, while against the yen it managed to gain 0.31% to trade at 141.75.
The Eurozone Markit flash PMIs for January exceeded expectations, as the composite index came in at 53.2 versus 52.5 expected by economists and 52.1 the previous month. The manufacturing PMI figure climbed to a high of 53.9 compared to expectations of a rise to 53.0 from 52.7 during the previous month. Services were also strong as they rose to a higher-than-expected 51.9 versus 51.0 the previous month.
What was even more encouraging was that the ‘weak link’ of the previous month’s PMI report, the Eurozone’s second largest economy – France, managed to beat expectations both regarding manufacturing and services. The French PMI indices were still in contraction territory (under 50), but the fact they rose sharply could help France to post better economic performance than economists expect.
With respect to UK data, CBI distributive trades survey for January showed that retail sales likely slowed from December. The index missed expectations of 25 by coming in at +14, whereas December’s figure was a very high reading of 34. The pound was up 0.30% against the dollar to trade at 1.6615 – surpassing the 1.66 level and making a fresh 2-year high as the pound benefitted from the better economic news concerning its main trading partner; the Eurozone.
In a busy day in terms of economic data, the weekly initial jobless claims in the US came exactly in line with expectations at 326 thousand, bringing down the 4-week average to 331 thousand from 335 thousand the previous week. However, the preliminary Markit Manufacturing PMI for the United States came out worse-than-expected at 53.7 compared to 55, which was the previous month’s figure and what was predicted by economists.
Home prices were up 7.6% year-on-year during November according to the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight. They were climbing by 8.2% during the previous month.
The dollar was down 0.58% against the yen to trade below the 104 mark to 103.72.
The euro was the big winner of today’s European session, as business surveys pointed to improving economic prospects for the Eurozone. The euro was up 0.86% against the dollar to trade at 1.3666, while against the yen it managed to gain 0.31% to trade at 141.75.
The Eurozone Markit flash PMIs for January exceeded expectations, as the composite index came in at 53.2 versus 52.5 expected by economists and 52.1 the previous month. The manufacturing PMI figure climbed to a high of 53.9 compared to expectations of a rise to 53.0 from 52.7 during the previous month. Services were also strong as they rose to a higher-than-expected 51.9 versus 51.0 the previous month.
What was even more encouraging was that the ‘weak link’ of the previous month’s PMI report, the Eurozone’s second largest economy – France, managed to beat expectations both regarding manufacturing and services. The French PMI indices were still in contraction territory (under 50), but the fact they rose sharply could help France to post better economic performance than economists expect.
With respect to UK data, CBI distributive trades survey for January showed that retail sales likely slowed from December. The index missed expectations of 25 by coming in at +14, whereas December’s figure was a very high reading of 34. The pound was up 0.30% against the dollar to trade at 1.6615 – surpassing the 1.66 level and making a fresh 2-year high as the pound benefitted from the better economic news concerning its main trading partner; the Eurozone.
In a busy day in terms of economic data, the weekly initial jobless claims in the US came exactly in line with expectations at 326 thousand, bringing down the 4-week average to 331 thousand from 335 thousand the previous week. However, the preliminary Markit Manufacturing PMI for the United States came out worse-than-expected at 53.7 compared to 55, which was the previous month’s figure and what was predicted by economists.
Home prices were up 7.6% year-on-year during November according to the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight. They were climbing by 8.2% during the previous month.
The dollar was down 0.58% against the yen to trade below the 104 mark to 103.72.
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