Mario Draghi’s speech in focus as the Euro posts a mild recovery!
Today’s Economic Data:
- Australia CB leading index m/m 0.3% vs. -0.3% previously
- China Caixin flash manufacturing PMI 47 vs. 47.6
- France flash manufacturing PMI 50.4 vs. 48.6; flash services PMI 51.2 vs. 51.1
- Germany flash manufacturing PMI 52.5 vs. 52.8; flash services PMI 54.3 vs. 54.5
- Eurozone flash manufacturing PMI 52.0 vs. 52.2; flash services PMI 54 vs. 54.1
- Canada core retail sales m/m 0.0% vs. 0.4%; retail sales 0.5% vs. 0.5%
Later:
- ECB President Draghi speech
- US Flash manufacturing PMI
- Crude oil inventories
- MPC member Broadbent speech
- FOMC Member Lockhart speech
The Asian markets opened on a mixed note with the Yen leading the gains early on led by mild risk aversion sentiment in the markets. The Aussie continued to post declines sharply across the board, falling over -0.54% at the time of writing led by the losses in the commodity sector. There were no major data releases from the Asian session. The equity markets were trading in the red with the Nikkei down -1.9%, while the Shanghai and the Hang Seng indices were down -2.16% and -2.26% respectively. China’s flash manufacturing PMI was weaker, falling to 47 from 47.3 last month further adding to the risk aversion in the markets.
The European trading session got underway with the focus on the flash services and manufacturing PMI. Overall, the Eurozone composite manufacturing PMI was soft at 52, while the services PMI was at 54, below estimates of 54.1. The Euro, which posted strong declines the first part of the week saw a mild recovery underway as the single currency managed to gain over 0.19% for the day to test the session highs of 1.1174 before easing back lower.
The British Pound was the weakest currency of the day however, losing -0.63% for the day as the Cable collapsed since the start opening near 1.5363. The Cable was seen trading near 10-day low at 1.526. There were no data releases from the UK today. The European equity markets were trading higher today with the German DAX gaining 1.02% for the day and the FTSE100 was up 1.93%.
The US trading session saw the release of the Canadian retail sales data, which remained unchanged on the core while retail sales grew as expected by 0.5%. The Canadian dollar was mixed, down -0.12% against the Greenback as the currency was seen supported by the strong move in Crude oil prices.
On the commodity front, Gold futures were up 0.36% for the day, briefly testing the session highs of 1131.5 before easing back lower. Crude Oil futures were up 0.24%, trading near $46.60 ahead of the Crude oil inventories report.
The remainder of the evening will see a speech by ECB Chief, Mario Draghi who is expected to testify to the European Parliament later this evening. The Bank of England’s Broadbent and the FOMC member, Lockhart are both expected to speak later in the day as well. The US equity futures markets are seen to open in the green today after declining broadly yesterday.
