The U.S. dollar jumped overnight and Bloomberg Dollar Index ticked 0.3% higher.
Overview
Overall, the greenback is now trading at its strongest level in three weeks.
The dollar gained the most against the Australian and New Zealand dollars as speculation increased that the Reserve Bank of Australia will cut rates. While the RBA left interest rates unchanged overnight, Governor Philip Lowe warned that “growth in household consumption is being affected by the protracted period of weakness in real household disposable income.”
This morning’s domestic docket showed more warning signs for the U.S. economy. Durable goods orders fell in February for the third time in the last four. Overall orders slipped 1.6%, not as bad as the forecasted slip of 1.8%. Non-military capital goods excluding aircraft fell 0.1%, according to the Commerce Department. There is no further economic data set for release today. ADP private payrolls and Markit Service data will highlight tomorrow’s docket.
What to Watch Today…
- No major events scheduled for today.
Complete Economic Calendar can be found here.
EUR
The Euro continues its slow slide, falling for its sixth straight day. The decline marks its longest losing streak in a month and a half. EUR/USD has been falling as recent data has shown greater weakness in Europe than the U.S. American PMI’s disappointed yesterday, but European manufacturing was much worse than expected as factory activity contracted at its fastest pace in six years.
GBP
The Pound fell by over 1.0% yesterday as indicators kept shedding away at the idea the U.K. economy remains strong during Brexit talks. The May 10th meeting for the Bank of England is looking to be a gloomy one as PMI figures in the U.K. marked a 17-month low for April.
In addition to low GDP, manufacturers are struggling to achieve much in terms of new expenses, investment, or hiring. Sterling remains near its lowest point of 2018 and was falling at the time of writing.
