Mid -Market Update – Setback for CAD

Asian Markets

Statistics New Zealand revealed that the merchandise trade deficit of New Zealand was at NZ$18 million in February. The trade deficit missed to match up with the forecasts for a surplus of NZ$180 million following the merchandise trade deficit of NZ$257 in January.

The exports were down by 5.5%, missing to match up with the forecasts of NZ$4.20 billion but slowly growing up from NZ$3.91 billion. The dairy exports rose to NZ$55 million or 5.6 % in value. This surge was due to the increase in the value of butter, milk fats (NZ$45 million), and milk powder (NZ$20 million).

The President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, Robert Kaplan, is going to talk about the fiscal measures needed for the economy in the Council Global Economy Series on “Tailwinds and Headwinds: The Economic Outlook and Monetary Policy.” Also, he said that three rate hikes for a year is reasonable and balance sheet trimming is a much needed step to be taken for the growth of the economy.

The recent survey from Nikkei revealed that Japan’s manufacturing sector became larger in March with a PMI score of 52.6. Though the PMI score has fallen from February’s score of 53.3, it remains well above the boom-or-bust line of 50.

Other Markets

Moving on for the day, we have the data for the Leading Economic Index being released by the Cabinet Office. The Leading Economic Index has shown a steady growth so far and has been in line with the Coincident Index. The Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) released by Markit Economics for France showed good results and is forecasted at 52.4 when compared to the previous month which was at 52.2.

The PMI service released by the Markit Economics for EURO seems to have a bad day today.  Majority of the data will be released later for the day with most of them giving out negative signs which will weaken the Euro and pave the way for Euro’s decline. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) released by the Statistics Canada has a negative 0.2% when compared to the previous month which was at 0.9%. As per the data, this is a setback for the Canadian dollar.

The Durable Goods Orders, released by the US Census Bureau are seen at 1.2% and stands better when compared to the previous data release at 2%. This should have the dollar back on momentum and boost the recovery of the greenback. The US President Donald Trump sought the help of the Congress to vote for the GOP health care bill in order to replace Obamacare. Investors will track this vote to assess Donald Trump’s credibility on delivering his promises.