Service sector PMIs
Sterling and Oil Slammed…Funds Seeking Bonds and Yen
July 5, 2016
The dollar rose 1.7% against sterling but fell 0.9% relative to the yen. The greenback has also risen 1.0% against the loonie, 0.9% relative to the Aussie dollar and kiwi. Dollar/euro and dollar/Swiss are little changed. Commodities are sinking except in the case of precious metals like gold and silver. West Texas Intermediate oil fell […] More
Gold and Yen Stronger but Stocks, Bond Yields, and Emerging Market Currencies Decline
April 5, 2016
The yen is 0.6% stronger on balance, powered by a fresh wave of safe-haven seeking capital flows. Many service sector PMI reports were disappointing. Japan’s index and its composite PMI fell to one-year lows, for example. The yen touched 110.26 per dollar, its most appreciated level since October 2014. Comex gold rose 1.3% to $1,231.59. […] More
Service Sector Activity Slowed Last Month in Eurozone and U.S.
March 3, 2016
The U.S. purchasing managers index for non-manufacturing, which is compiled by the Institute of Supply Management and shown in the comparative table below, slipped 0.1 point to 53.4 in February. Although representing just a marginally slower activity pace than in January, such was the fourth straight drop in the index, which stood at 58.3 four […] More
Stronger Euro, Weaker Yen
March 3, 2016
The dollar rose as high as JPY 114.28 overnight, its strongest level since February 15. It’s off that high currently but still up 0.4% on balance. At the same time, the U.S. currency shows overnight losses of 0.6% against the New Zealand and Australian dollars, 0.4% versus the euro, 0.3% relative to the Swiss franc […] More
ECB Delivers Less Support than Expected, Sending Euro Sharply Higher
December 3, 2015
ECB officials, who had strongly hinted that significant additional monetary policy relief is imminent, failed to meet the market’s expectations. Largely in response, the dollar recorded an overnight drop of 2.1% against the euro and 1.7% versus the Swiss franc. Share prices in Europe are down 3.0% in France, 2.8% in Germany, 2.0% in Spain, […] More
Services PMI Spread Between U.S. and Eurozone Widened Sharply in July
August 5, 2015
The ISM reported a 4.3-point increase in the U.S. non-manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) to 60.3, highest since November. Euroland’s services PMI, in contrast, fell 0.4 points last month to a two-month low. The resulting PMI differential between the two economies therefore climbing to an 8-month high of 6.3. This augmented U.S. advantage more than […] More
Only a Marginal Change in U.S.-Minus-Eurozone PMI Spreads
July 6, 2015
The U.S. non-manufacturing PMI rose 0.3 points to a two-month high of 56.0 in June. The advance in the index was half as much as the increase in Euroland’s services PMI from 53.8 in May to a 49-month high of 54.4 in June. The differential between those two indices narrowed by 0.3 points to 1.6, […] More
Weaker Australian Dollar and Slump Continues in Chinese Share Prices
July 3, 2015
The Australian dollar tumbled 1.5% against its U.S. counterpart. Australian retail sales grew by a smaller-than-forecast 0.3% in May following a downtick of 0.1% in April and a 0.2% rise in March. On-year growth in retail sales remained at 4.4%. Better news arrived from the Australian service-sector purchasing managers index, which increased 1.6 points to […] More
Post-Easter Session Sees Equities and Aussie Dollar Rise
April 7, 2015
Following the advance in the Dow on Monday, the return of markets that had been closed for Easter saw share prices advance 2.2% in China, 1.3% in Japan, 0.8% in Hong Kong and Indonesia, 0.5% in Australia and 0.4% in Singapore, Taiwan and New Zealand. European stocks have thus far advanced by 1.5% in Great […] More
Mixture of Market Signals as PMIs Provide Some Relief
January 6, 2015
Yesterday’s market volatility continued in some respects. Share prices fell overnight by 3.0% in Japan, 3.1% in India, 2.4% in Taiwan, 1.6% in Australia, 1.7% in South Korea, 1.4% in Singapore and 1.0% in Hong Kong. In U.S. Treasury futures, the 30-year yield slid another two basis points lower to 2.58%, and the 10-year yield […] More
