Narrowly Mixed Dollar
December 23, 2015
The biggest dollar move overnight is a 0.5% slide against sterling. Otherwise, the U.S. currency is down 0.2% versus the loonie and 0.1% relative to the yen, unchanged vis-a-vis the yuan, and up 0.2% against the euro, Swissie and kiwi and 0.1% firmer relative to the Aussie dollar.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil was bid 0.9% higher to $36.46 per barrel. Comex gold edged 0.1% lower to $1,071.15 per troy ounce.
Share prices rose 1.3% in Hong Kong, 1.0% in India, 0.7% in New Zealand, 0.5% in Australia, 0.4% in Singapore and 0.3% in South Korea and Taiwan but slipped 0.3% in China. The Japanese market was closed today to commemorate the Emperor’s birthday but will be open the rest of the week.
Share prices in Europe have climbed thus far today by 1.9% in Spain, 1.5% in France, 1.4% in Germany and the U.K., and 1.0% in Italy.
The ten-year German bund yield dipped a basis point, while the 10-year British gilt advanced three basis points.
Part of the U.S. personal spending report was inadvertently leaked last night ahead of today’s scheduled release. Spending rose 0.3% in November after holding flat in October.
Revised British national income accounts show somewhat slower real GDP growth in 3Q15 of 0.4% on quarter and 2.1% on year. Consumption and business investment respectively increased 0.9% and 2.2% on quarter, but net exports exerted a 1.0 percentage point drag.
The U.K. current account deficit narrowed by a marginal 0.2% last quarter to GBP 17.457 billion, equal to 3.7% of nominal GDP.
British labor productivity advanced 0.5% in the third quarter, and unit labor costs went up 0.3% on quarter and 1.3% on year.
Revised French GDP growth last quarter of 0.3% from 2Q was the same as the earlier preliminary estimate, but the on-year increase of 1.1% was a tad softer.
French consumer spending deteriorated 1.1% in November following a 0.2% dip in October. Analysts had expected a marginal uptick.
The Swiss index of leading economic indicators declined 0.7% in November to a reading of 96.6.
New Zealand recorded a 779 million New Zealand dollar trade deficit in November, 2.75 times larger than a year before as imports jumped 12.0% and exports rose only 1.0%.
Spanish producer prices slipped 0.2% on month and fell 2.6% on year in November. Finland’s PPI dropped 0.3% on month and 3.0% from November 2014. Belgian consumer price inflation held steady at 1.5%.
Italian industrial orders increased 4.6% on month in October, most since April. Italian retail sales eased 0.3% on month but climbed 1.8% on year in October. Austrian industrial output was 1.5% greater than a year earlier in October.
Consumer prices in Singapore fell 0.8% on year in November. Core inflation there was 0.2%. Malaysian CPI inflation stayed level at 2.6% last month.
India’s leading and coincident economic indices respectively fell 0.5% and rose 0.3% in November.
Brazilian consumer sentiment fell 1.5 points to a December reading of 75.2.
A big day lies ahead for U.S. data reports. Besides the rest of the personal spending and income data, investors will learn the latest results of new home sales, durable goods orders, the U. Michigan/Reuters index of business sentiment, and weekly mortgage applications and oil inventories.
Canadian retail sales and monthly GDP figures get released today as well, as does Euroland’s index of leading economic indicators.
Copyright 2015, Larry Greenberg. All rights reserved. No secondary distribution without express permission.