Dollar Mixed, Gold Down, and Stocks Remain Well Bid
September 18, 2017
The dollar advanced by 0.4% against the yen and sterling, 0.3% versus the yuan, and 0.1% relative to the loonie and peso but slipped 0.2% vis-a-vis the kiwi and 0.1% against the euro and Swiss franc. The Aussie currency is steady.
Gold dropped 0.5%, exceeding its two-week low, and WTI crude oil fell 0.2%.
Japanese markets, which stayed closed today for the Respect for the Aged Day, will also be closed Friday in observance of the autumnal equinox. In other selected Pacific Rim stock markets, equities advanced 1.7% in Hong Kong, 1.4% in South Korea, 1.0% in Singapore and 0.5% in India, Taiwan and Australia.
European stocks so far today have traded up 0.7% in Spain, 0.6% in Italy, 0.4% in the U.K., and 0.3% in Germany, France and Switzerland. U.S. futures also have strengthened.
The German 10-year bund yield edged a basis point higher. Its British counterpart is steady.
Chinese property price inflation slowed further to 8.3% in August from 9.7% in July, 10.2% in June, 10.4% in May and 12.6% last November. Government measures to remove froth from China’s housing market are bearing fruit.
CPI inflation in the euro area was confirmed at 1.5% in August, a 4-month high. Core CPI ticked up 0.1 percentage point to a 4-month high of 1.2%. Energy costs increased 0.7% on month and accelerated to a 12-month 4.0% increase from 2.2% in July and 1.9% in June.Services sector consumer prices and food posted benign on-year increases of 1.6% and 1.4%, same as in July, while non-energy industrial goods prices were just 0.5% higher than a year earlier.
Italy’s total trade surplus of EUR 6.56 billion in July easily exceeded expectations for a narrower surplus than June’s EUR 4.50 result.
In the year to August, Czech producer prices rose 1.4% and import prices fell 0.8%.
The jobless rates of Malaysia in July and Hong Kong in August were 3.5% and 3.1%.
New motor vehicle sales in Australia were flat on month in August, keeping their 12-month rate of increase at 1.7%. In the year to June, such had risen 3.4% on year.
The National Association of Home Builders releases its U.S. housing market index today.
President Trump will address the U.N. General Assembly today and is expected to speak in part about North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.
Both the Fed and Bank of Japan hold monetary policy meetings this week. So also do central banks in Norway, The Philippines, Indonesia, Hungary, and South Africa.
Elections are scheduled next weekend in both Germany and New Zealand.
Copyright 2017, Larry Greenberg. All rights reserved. No secondary distribution without express permission.
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