Prelim Private Sector PMIs Put the Pound, the EUR, and the Dollar in Focus

Earlier in the Day:

It is a relatively busy start to the day on the economic calendar this morning. The Japanese Yen was in action in the early hours.

For the Japanese Yen

In January, the manufacturing PMI rose from 54.3 to 54.6. Economists had forecast a decrease to 54.0. More significantly, the services PMI slid from 52.1 to 46.6. Economists had forecast a decline to 52.0.

According to the prelim January survey,

• Private sector activity dipped for the first time in 4-months, with the composite PMI falling from 51.8 to 48.8.
• Service sector activity fell at the sharpest pace since August, overshadowing a modest pickup in manufacturing sector activity.
• The spread of the Omicron strain weighed on service sector activity in the month.

Looking at the sub-components:

• Firms across the services sector reported a fall in new orders, while manufacturers reported strong growth. New export orders followed a similar trend.
• Employment fell for the first time in a year, with service sector firms reporting a stronger decline.
• Backlogs of work declined as a result of a fall in backlogs across the services sector.
• Input and output prices pointed to softer inflation.
• Optimism across the private sector dipped. Service sector optimism fell to a 12-month low, while manufacturing sector optimism fell to a 5-month low.

The Japanese Yen moved from ¥113.809 to ¥113.807 upon release of the figures. At the time of writing, the Japanese Yen was down by 0.18% to ¥113.890 against the U.S Dollar.

Elsewhere

At the time of writing, the Aussie Dollar was down by 0.01% to $0.7184, while the Kiwi Dollar was up by 0.01% to $0.6718.

The Day Ahead

For the EUR

It’s a busy day ahead on the economic calendar. Prelim January private sector PMIs for France, Germany, and the Eurozone are due out. While Germany’s manufacturing PMI tends to be the key stat, the markets will be eying the sub-components to assess what lies ahead. Supply chains, inflation, and new orders will likely be key areas of focus.

At the time of writing, the EUR was up by 0.28% to $1.1344.

For the Pound

It’s a relatively busy day ahead on the economic calendar. Prelim private sector PMIs for January are due out. Expect the services PMI to be key. With the talk of a BoE rate hike in February doing the rounds, the numbers would have to be dire for the BoE to hit pause on plans to curb inflation.

At the time of writing, the Pound was down by 0.35% to $1.3553.

Across the Pond

It’s a relatively quiet day ahead, with prelim private sector PMIs also in focus later in the day. Expect the services PMI to be the key stat.

At the time of writing, the U.S Dollar Spot Index was up by 0.06% to 95.695.

For the Loonie

It’s a quiet day ahead. December manufacturing sales figures are due out later today. With the markets looking ahead to Wednesday’s BoC monetary policy decision, however, we don’t expect the numbers to influence.

At the time of writing, the Loonie was down by 0.62% to C$1.2581 against the U.S Dollar.

For a look at all of today’s economic events, check out our economic calendar.