Despite higher food and energy prices, consumer spending in the U.S. rose less than forecast for the month of April. Purchases rose 0.4 percent after a revised 0.5 percent gain the prior month that was smaller than previously estimated, Commerce Department figures showed today in Washington.
“When you account for higher food and energy prices there’s barely anything left for consumers” to buy, said Mark Vitner, a senior economist at Wells Fargo Securities LLC in Charlotte, North Carolina. “We need to see job growth pick up and we need to see commodity prices continue to cool.”
Source: Bloomberg
Retail sales for the eurozone region rose slightly in July, gaining 0.1 percent after a 0.2 percent gain in June. Several of the smaller member nations recorded more significant gains including a 3.0 percent increase in Portugal and a 2.9 percent increase in Malta. Germany, the economic powerhouse of the region, managed a slight gain of 0.3 percent.
Source: AFP News
European stocks climbed as a rally in auto-industry shares and Aviva Plc outweighed declines in food makers after Unilever missed sales forecasts. Asian shares advanced and U.S. index futures were little changed.
Nokian Renkaat Oyj, the Nordic region’s largest tire maker, rallied 8.3 percent after posting better-than-estimated earnings. Aviva, the U.K.’s second-biggest insurer, surged 6.7 percent as first-half profit increased 21 percent. Unilever, the world’s second-largest maker of consumer goods, declined 3.6 percent. Barclays Plc slipped 2.8 percent after revenue at its investment banking operations declined.
The benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.4 percent to 263.12 at 10:54 a.m. in London, having swung between gains and losses at least five times. The gauge has advanced 13 percent from this year’s low on May 25 as concern eased that Europe’s sovereign debt crisis may derail the economic recovery. More than 25 companies in the Stoxx 600 reported results today.
Bloomberg
New Zealand’s dollar fell against all its major counterparts after a report showed the jobless rate rose more than economists forecast, signaling the central bank will slow the pace of interest rate increases.
The currency ended a four-day gain versus the greenback as traders cut bets the central bank will raise rates at its policy meeting next month. Australia’s dollar traded near a three-month high against its U.S. counterpart as gains in Asian stocks and commodities boosted demand for higher-yielding assets.
“The New Zealand dollar dropped sharply this morning following the higher-than-expected unemployment rate result,” said Mike Jones, a currency strategist at Bank of New Zealand Ltd. in Wellington. “We saw last week the central bank move toward a slightly less hawkish stance and I think this is another piece of data, which backs up that stance.”
Bloomberg
The dollar climbed to its highest rate in a month against the euro as speculation grows that the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates sooner than previously expected. Last Fridays Non-Farm Payroll report was much better than anticipated and while job losses still outpace job creation, the job loss rate appears to be slowing faster than expected.
“On the U.S. dollar front we now have an early indication on the level of volatility that a shift in monetary policy can trigger,” Khurram Butt, in the Treasury sales division of Europe Arab Bank Plc in London, wrote in a client note. “Before the job report, the chances of a June Federal Reserve rate hike was implied at only 35 percent, but this jumped to above 50 percent after the unemployment number came out.”
Bloomberg
The dollar climbed to its highest rate in a month against the euro as speculation grows that the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates sooner than previously expected. Last Fridays Non-Farm Payroll report was much better than anticipated and while job losses still outpace job creation, the job loss rate appears to be slowing faster than expected.
“On the U.S. dollar front we now have an early indication on the level of volatility that a shift in monetary policy can trigger,” Khurram Butt, in the Treasury sales division of Europe Arab Bank Plc in London, wrote in a client note. “Before the job report, the chances of a June Federal Reserve rate hike was implied at only 35 percent, but this jumped to above 50 percent after the unemployment number came out.”
Bloomberg