Evergrande Misses Payment and Some Disappointing Data Reported
September 24, 2021
The dollar rose against most currencies overnight, including gains of 0.7% against the Aussie dollar, Mexican peso and Turkish lira, 0.6% relative to the New Zealand dollar, 0.3% vis-a-vis the loonie and sterling and 0.2% against the Japanese yen. But dips of 0.2% versus the euro and 0.1% against the Swissie suppressed net movement in the DXY weighted dollar index.
Stock markets have been more down than up, with rises of 2.1% in Japan and 1.1% in Taiwan countered by losses of 1.3% in Hong Kong, 0.9% in Australia, 0.8% in China, and so far 1.0^ in France and 0.8% in Germany. Major U.S. stock futures indices are down 0.3-0.6%.
The 10-year Japanese JGB and German bund yields rose two basis points, while the 10 year U.S. Treasury yield is two basis points lower. WTI oil slipped 0.3%, but the price of gold has firmed 0.2%.
The Chinese realtor Evergrande missed making yesterday’s interest debt payment.
Consumer confidence in Great Britain dropped five index points in September (most in almost a year) to a five-month low of -13.
Germany’s IFO business climate index fell this month by 0.8 points to a 5-month low. This was the third straight slide in the index, with expectations dropping to a 7-month low and current conditions slipping to a 2-month low.
Although Italian consumer confidence leaped 3.4 index points to a record high in this 23-year-old data series, business sentiment fell to a 3-month low including a 4-month trough in manufacturing.
Czech business sentiment and consumer confidence in September each fell to 5-month lows.
Britain’s monthly distributive trades index plunged from a multi-year high reading of 60 in August to a 6-month low in September of +11.
An 11.2% on-year increase in Singapore industrial production in August was the smallest 12-month rate of increase since June.
Turkish manufacturing confidence weakened in September to a 5-month low.
New Zealand’s trade balance in August swung to a record deficit of NZD 2.144 billion in August from deficits of NZD 299 million a year earlier and NZD 397 million in July.
Japan’s preliminary manufacturing purchasing managers index in September fell 1.5 points to an 8-month low of 51.2. However, a rebound to 47.4 of the service sector PMI from a 15-month low of 42.9 in August enabled the composite PMI to rise to a 2-month high. But at 47.7, such remained below the 50 breakeven level.
Turning to price data, Japanese core consumer prices (-0.1% excluding perishable food) and core core CPI (-0.3% excluding as well as fresh food) each posted their first seasonally adjusted monthly drops in four months. Compared to August 2020, core inflation was zero percent, and the core core CPI had fallen by 0.5%.
Swedish producer prices soared 2.0% on month and by a record 15.8% on year in August. That same month, Finland’s PPI went up 1.4% and also by a record 15.5% on year.
South Korean producer price inflation edged down 0.1 percentage point to a 2-month low of 7.3% in August.
Malaysian CPI inflation decelerated to a 5-month low of 2.0% in August.
Copyright 2021, Larry Greenberg. All rights reserved. No secondary distribution without express permission.
Tags: German business climate index, Japan purchasing managers index, Japanese CPI
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