Euroland
October PMI Results Favor United States Over Euro Zone
November 4, 2010
Purchasing managers survey results were more U.S.-advantageous in October than September and in September than August. The sum of the U.S. minus Euroland manufacturing and services spreads, shown in the right-most column of the table below, was +3.3 in October after minus 0.2 in September and minus 3.2 points in August. Much of this change […] More
Best U.S. Minus Euroland Manufacturing Advantage in Five Months
November 2, 2010
The October purchasing manager surveys show evidence that the weaker dollar is indeed endowing the United States with a greater competitive edge vis-a-vis the euro area. The dollar’s average euro value in October was 12.2% lower than in June. The U.S. PMI manufacturing index had a reading of 56.9, 2.5 points higher than in September, […] More
Shifting Geographical Sources of Global Growth
October 7, 2010
The IMF’s October 2010 World Economic Outlook released in conjunction with this week’s IMF/World Bank meetings in Washington contains useful information for sorting world growth trends over the past two decades. Growth rates in the table below are expressed in annualized terms, that is percent per annum. Figures in the right-most column embody IMF growth […] More
Softer Dollar With Few New Data Releases
September 17, 2010
The greenback lost 1.0% and 0.9% against the New Zealand and Australian dollars. The AUD touched a new 2010 high of USD 0.9472. These commodity-sensitive currencies got a lift from net overnight gains of 0.8% in oil and 0.7% in gold. The latter hit a new record high of $1284.40 per ounce, while oil is […] More
Worst U.S. Services Activity Since January, Poorest Compared to Euro Area in Nine Months
September 3, 2010
The Institute of Supply management reported a 2.8-point decline last month in the non-manufacturing U.S. purchasing managers index. At 51.5, such was two points plus weaker than forecast, the lowest reading since January, and below the twelve-month average score of 52.3. Sub-components of the survey like production (54.4) and orders (52.4) revealed slower rates of […] More
U.S. Regains PMI-Manufacturing Lead From Europe
September 1, 2010
The U.S. minus euro area PMI differential in manufacturing swung to +1.2 in August from minus 1.2 in July. The spread had been negative in July for only the first time since December 2008, averaging +3.0 in that 18-month span and peaking in January 2010 at +6.0. The U.S. purchasing managers index rose 0.8 points, […] More
Scant Change in U.S. Minus Ezone Services PMI Differential Last Month
August 4, 2010
The United States and Euroland each recorded decent expansion in both manufacturing and non-manufacturing as the third quarter got under way. In services, the U.S. index rose a half point to 54.3, while the euro area reading of 55.8 was 0.3 points above the level in June. In manufacturing data reported on Monday, the U.S. […] More
Awaiting U.S. Retail Sales and FOMC Minutes
July 14, 2010
From a high of 88.02/USD, the yen had lost 0.7% by yesterday’s close, but it did not retreat further overnight. The dollar is also unchanged against the Aussie dollar and Chinese renminbi. The greenback has fallen 0.6% against sterling but shows gains of 0.3% against the Swiss franc, 0.2% versus the kiwi and Canadian dollar, […] More
Swissy Strengthens, Kiwi Weakens
June 28, 2010
The summit of G-20 leaders in Toronto over the weekend released a statement that had something for everybody. Omitted any reference to the yuan or, more generally, foreign exchange conditions and policy coordination. Identified a strengthening recovery as the key near-term priority. Warned of the downside risk from a synchronized fiscal adjustment across several major […] More
U.S./Euro Area Manufacturing PMI Spread Shows Widest Advantage in Four Months
June 1, 2010
The purchasing manager indices fell in May by 1.8 points in Euroland but just 0.7 points in the United States. The differential between those two readings increased 1.1 points as a result to its greatest width since January despite a near 20% appreciation of the dollar against the euro since November. Manufacturing is export-intensive, so […] More
