Not Much Happening at the Solstice
June 20, 2014
The dollar is up 0.3% against the kiwi and shows upticks of 0.1% versus the euro, yen, Swissie, sterling, and Australian dollar. The dollar is 0.1% softer relative to the yuan.
The ten-year British gilt yield firmed three basis points. The equivalent German bund is a basis point higher, but the Japanese JGB dipped a basis point.
Asian share prices settled back from their six-year highs. Stocks lost 1.2% in South Korea, 0.9% in Australia and New Zealand, 0.5% in Taiwan, 0.4% in India, 0.3% in Indonesia and Singapore and 0.1% in Japan. Equities in China and Hong Kong rose 0.5% and 0.1%, and they are mixed in Europe with gains of 0.3% in Switzerland, Britain and Germany but losese of 0.5% in Italay and 0.1% in Spain.
The price of gold on the Comex is off 0.2% at $1,311.80 per ounce. WTI oil edged up 0.1% to $106.58 per barrel.
EU Finance Ministers are meeting in Luxembourg where they will discuss the 2015 budget and prepare for the midyear summit of leaders on June 26-27.
Bank of Japan Governor Kuroda called Japanese price developments “improving sharply.”
The euro area seasonally adjusted current account surplus of EUR 21.5 billion was 1.9 billion euros wider in April than March and printed above EUR 20.0 billion for the sixth time in seven months. Merchandise imports contracted 1.1% on top of a 1.5% slide in March, while exports rose 0.6%. The unadjusted current account surplus of EUR 244.5 billion during the twelve months through April was 41% bigger than in the previous statement year.
German producer prices dipped 0.2% on month and 0.8% on year in May. Energy prices dropped 2.6% on year, and all other producer prices collectively dipped 0.2%. The Conference Board reported that Germany’s index of coincident economic indicators stagnated in April after only a 0.1% uptick in March. The index of leading economic indicators went up 0.2% following no change the month before.
Italian industrial orders advanced 3.8% in April, which was more than analysts expected following March’s 1.4% increase. Orders were 6.2% higher than a year earlier, while industrial sales recorded a smaller on-year climb of 2.2%.
Britain’s public-sector net borrowing grew to GBP 11.477 billion last month from GBP 9.6 billion in April. Government debt equaled 76.1% of GDP.
Danish retail sales rose 0.4% in May to a multiyear high. Danish consumer confidence climbed to a reading of 9.3 in June from 7.8 in May and 5.5 in April. Consumer confidence was also reported in the Netherlands (up 0.3 points to -2.0 in June), New Zealand (up 3.4% to 131.4), and Belgium (down a point to -7).
The Greek current account deficit ballooned back to EUR 1.17 billion in April from EUR 44 million in March.
The Filipino current account surplus of $1.96 billion last quarter followed a $3.7 billion surplus in the final quarter of 2013. Malaysian CPI inflation eased to 3.2% in May from 3.4% in April.
While no U.S. data releases are scheduled today, Mexico and Canada report retail sales, and Canada also releases consumer prices. The flash estimate of euro area consumer confidence arrives this Solstice as well.
Copyright 2014, Larry Greenberg. All rights reserved. No secondary distribution without express permission.