Dollar Softer Across the Board
July 29, 2010
Overnight the dollar lost 1.2% against the Swiss franc, 1.1% against the Australian dollar, 0.7% against the Canadian dollar and euro, 0.5% against the yen, 0.3% relative to sterling and 0.2% against the kiwi. The dollar even dipped 0.03% against the yuan.
The Japanese Nikkei lost 0.6%, and stocks dipped 0.2% in South Korea and 0.1% in Australia. Other equity markets show gains of 1.3% in Indonesia, 0.6% in Britain and Germany, 0.5% in China and France, 0.4% in Singapore and New Zealand, and 0.2% in India and Taiwan.
Ten-year British gilt yields dropped four basis points, and the yields on JGBs and German bunds are each off one basis point.
Gold and oil prices firmed 0.6% and 0.3% to $1168.80 per ounce and $77.24 per barrel.
Japanese large-store retail sales posted on-year declines of 3.0% in June and 3.5% in 2Q after falling 4.9% in the year to 1Q10. Total retail sales were 3.2% higher in June than a year before and recorded on-year growth in the second quarter of 3.7%, similar to a 3.8% rise in 1Q10.
Japanese Prime Minister Kan indicated that he will not step down before September.
California Governor Schwarzneggar has declared a fiscal emergency in America’s most populated state.
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand as expected implemented a second 25-basis point increase in the Official Cash Rate to 3.0% but signaled that rates in the future are likely to rise less quickly than imagined previously.
- New Zealand’s trade surplus was 66% narrower in June than May.
- M3 in New Zealand contracted 3.3% in the year to June after on-year declines of 3.1% in May and 3.6% in April.
Euro area reported various improved confidence measures for July. Overall sentiment improved 2.3 points to a 28-month high of 101.3. Such bottomed at 70.6 in March 2009. Industrial sentiment and retail sector sentiment each went up two points to minus 4, while consumer confidence was three points higher at minus 14. Construction sentiment firmed a point to minus 20. The business climate index advanced to 0.66 from 0.40 in June and a low in March 2009 of minus 3.67.
Italian business sentiment improved 2.2 points to 98.3 in July from 96.1 in June and 96.4 in May. Italian wages firmed 0.1% on month and 2.5% on year in June, same as in May.
German unemployment fell by 20K in July, the 13th consecutive month of improvement. The jobless rate ticked down a tenth to 7.6%. Jobs grew 0.1% in June and by 0.3% from a year earlier.
French overall producer prices edged 0.1% higher in June and 3.4% higher than a year before. Domestic PPI was steady, while imported producer prices firmed 0.3% on the month. French Finance Minister Legarde anticipates significantly stronger world growth in 2011 led by key emerging markets and does not anticipate a double-dip French recession.
Belgian consumer prices were unchanged in July, posting a 12-month rise of 2.6% after 2.5% in the year to June. Spanish harmonized CPI inflation in July was 1.9%. Spanish housing permits fell 6.6% in May. Hungarian producer prices rose 6.9% in the year to June.
Swedish retail sales volume edged down 0.2% in June but recorded an on-year 2.8% increase, which exceeded the 2.3% advance in the first half of 2010. Swedish consumer confidence in July of 23.3 was slightly better than forecast, and factory-sector confidence improved four points.
Britain’s Nationwide house price index fell 0.5% in July and slumped to a lower-than-anticipated 6.6% 12-month rise from 8.7% in the year to June. U.K. M4 grew 3.0% in the year to June, up from 2.7% on-year in May, but M4 lending growth (2.4%) represented a new record low. The Bank of England’s preferred core M4 growth slowed a bit. Mortgage approvals of 47.64K in June were 3.7% smaller than in May.
South African producer prices unexpectedly leaped 4.0% on month in June, boosting the 12-month rate of increase to 9.4%. Growth in South African M3 of 2.4% and private credit of 0.9% in the year to June were each less than forecast.
Scheduled North American releases today include Canadian producer prices and raw material prices and U.S. jobless insurance claims.
Copyright Larry Greenberg 2010. All rights reserved. No secondary distribution without express permission.
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