The New Zealand dollar is lower on Friday. NZD/USD is down 0.31% on the day, trading at 0.6015 in the European session at the time of writing. New Zealand manufacturing has been in a prolonged slump and the April Manufacturing PMI remained in contraction, with a reading of 48.9, up from 47.1 in March. The manufacturing sector has been mired in contraction territory for 14 straight months (the 50 level separates contraction from expansion) New Zealand’s economy remains weak and this has resulted in decreased demand which has dampened manufacturing activity. The weak manufacturing PMI report is ..read more

The Hang Seng Index has transformed into a medium-term uptrend phase with key support at 17,110. Momentum factor is now taking a front seat over fundamentals such as the deflationary risk spiral. A softer than-expected China CPI and PPI prints for April may further erode consumer confidence. A yuan devaluation cannot be ruled out to offset weak domestic demand via a boost in export growth that can spark a currency war. This is a follow-up analysis of our prior report, “Hang Seng Index: Potential currency war may kick start another bearish leg” dated 25 March 2024. Click here for a recap. In ..read more

The Canadian dollar is almost unchanged on Friday. USD/CAD is up 0.03%, trading at 1.3680 in the European session at the time of writing. Canada’s job growth expected to rebound Canada releases the April employment report later today. The economy shed 2200 jobs in March, a shocking figure as the market forecast stood at a gain of 25,900. Job growth is expected to get back on track, with an estimate of 18,000. The unemployment rate has been high and is expected to creep up to 6.2%, compared to 6.1% in March. Wage growth, an important driver of inflation, is expected to tick lower to 4.9% in Ap ..read more

The British pound is showing limited movement on Thursday. GBP/USD is up 0.15%, trading at 1.2515 in the North American session at the time of writing. Bank of England maintains rate at 5.25% The Bank of England kept the cash rate unchanged at 5.25% for a sixth straight time in a widely expected move. The British pound dropped slightly after the announcement but then recovered. The breakdown of the vote by the nine members of the MPC was noteworthy, as two members voted for a 0.25% cut, with seven voting to hold rates. At the April meeting, the vote was eight members in favor of a hold and on ..read more

The New Zealand dollar has made gains on Thursday. NZD/USD is up 0.33% on the day, trading at 0.6024 in the North American session at the time of writing. New Zealand manufacturing has been in the doldrums and the April manufacturing PMI, which will be released on Friday, is expected to show contraction, with a forecast of 48.5. The 50 level separates expansion from contraction. The PMI has been in contraction territory for 13 consecutive months, as manufacturing remains in a prolonged slump. In March, activity slowed to 47.1, down from 49.3 a month earlier. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand ha ..read more

The Japanese yen has posted a three-day slide and is in negative territory on Thursday. USD/JPY has risen 0.26% on the day and is trading at 155.93 at the time of writing. Is the BoJ turning hawkish? The Bank of Japan released its Summary of Opinions from its April 26th meeting earlier today. The meeting was uneventful as the BoJ maintained policy settings. The yen proceeded to slide and just a few days later broke below the 160 line, triggering a suspected intervention by Japan’s Ministry of Finance. Governor Ueda was criticized for failing to send a clear message at the meeting about furthe ..read more

The euro continues to have an uneventful week. EUR/USD is up down 0.06%, trading at 1.0748 in the North American session at the time of trading. German industrial production declines It has been a mixed week for German data. German industrial production declined by 0.4% m/m in March after a revised gain of 1.7% in February and above the market estimate of 0.6%. Manufacturing production fell by 0.4%. This release comes a day after German factory orders fell by 0.4% after a decline of 0.8% in February and shy of the market estimate of 0.4%. While manufacturing remains in the doldrums, business ..read more

USD/CAD has edged higher on Wednesday and is up 0.25%, trading at 1.3760 at the time of writing. Canada’s Ivey PMI climbed sharply in April to 63.0, up from 57.5 in March and beating the forecast of 58.1. This marked the highest level since May 2022, indicating that purchasing managers have seen an improvement in business activity. The employment and inflation components of the PMI both rose, which points to a healthy labor market and stronger inflationary pressures. The Bank of Canada is under pressure to provide some relief and lower interest rates, but the road to bringing inflation back d ..read more

The Japanese yen is down for a third straight day and has declined 1.5% this week. USD/JPY has risen 0.43% on the day and is trading at 155.35 at the time of writing. Early Thursday, the BoJ will release the Summary of Opinions from the April meeting. Japanese officials remain mum about suspected interventions on the currency markets last week. The yen broke below the 160 line before recovering and surged 3.4% last week. However, the yen’s strength did not take long to dissipate and has dropped below the 150 level today. Previous interventions by Tokyo boosted the yen for only a short time an ..read more

The Japanese yen is down for a second straight day on Tuesday. USD/JPY has risen 0.45%, up 154.59, up 0.45% at the time of writing. The yen is down 1% this week after soaring 3.4% against the dollar a week earlier. The markets are still buzzing after Japan’s Ministry of Finance apparently intervened twice last week in the currency markets in order to prop up the ailing Japanese yen. Previous interventions have provided only a brief boost for the yen and after crossing above the 160 line last week, the yen has already lost some of last week’s huge gains. With the Fed signaling that it won’t ru ..read more