Morning Market Update – Pound on Decline

So Far

Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen warned that there may be some threats to the central bank’s independence because of the two bills from the Congress. She also remarked on the importance of the Federal Reserve’s independence from political pressure. Yellen also said that the labor market is at a normal state now.

Statistics New Zealand said on Tuesday that New Zealand’s overall credit card spending went up by 0.5% in March. This was in line with the forecasted values following the 0.7% decline in February. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) data released in Asia showed that the total retail sales went up by just 0.1% in the January-March period. The negative trade deficit for UK caused a steady decline of the pound, proving to be a setback for the UK economy.

The NAB Monthly Business Survey for March 2017 showed that the business conditions index rose to their highest levels. The Business Conditions Index jumped to its highest level since the Global Financial Crisis while the Business Confidence Index dropped down. Aussie’s unchanged response to the NAB business conditions data could be the reason for the drop in the Confidence Index.

Coming Up

Moving on for the day, we have Romania’s Industrial Production released by the National Institute of Statistics which seems to be fixed within the range. We have a few major data releases for the day. The pound might get hit majorly as most of the data for the pound is below par. This can dampen the pound’s growth furthermore as there are no major movements on the pound pairs.

The data is bound to have some downfall with the Producer Price Index Input showing weaker signs with the forecasts at 17.2% versus the previous data at 19.1% and the Producer Price Index Output showing forecasts at 3.35% versus the previous data at 3.7%.

The German Zentrum Economic Sentiment looks to have improved and we should see a demand for them in the markets today. The Industrial Production released by the Eurostat shows weaker signs (YOY) and we must have a close watch on the ZEW Economic Sentiment before making our next move with the EURO. We begin the day with the 10-Year Note Auction which has been steadily growing and it should be interesting to see the output. We end the day with FOMC Member Neel Kashkari’s Speech.
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