U.S Stats and Geopolitics to Drive the Majors. Will GDP Numbers Surprise or…?

Earlier in the Day:

Following a relatively busy Wednesday, economic data was on the heavy side this morning.

New Zealand April building consents and the Annual budget provided the Kiwi Dollar with direction.  Out of Australia, April building approvals and 1^st quarter private new CAPEX provided the Aussie Dollar with direction.

For the Kiwi Dollar,

Building consents tumbled by 7.9% in April, which was worse than a forecasted 1.3% increase. Consents had fallen by 6.9% in March. According to figures released by NZ Stats,

• Year-on-year, social building consents surged by 44%.
• While work on malls, car park buildings and warehouses also supported, consents for office buildings slid by 8.2%.

The Kiwi Dollar moved from $0.65141 to $0.65130 upon release of the stats that preceded the annual budget.

The Annual budget, failed to weigh on the Kiwi Dollar in spite of a cut to growth forecasts for the current year.

• The government also cut its budget surplus forecast for next year.
• While growth forecasts were cut for the current year, economic growth is forecasted to rebound for next year, supported by an increase in government spending.

The Kiwi Dollar moved from $0.65123 to $0.65156 upon release of the annual budget. At the time of writing, the Kiwi Dollar was up by 0.21% to $0.6526.

For the Aussie Dollar,

Building approves slid by 4.7% in April, which was worse than a forecasted 0.1% increase. Approvals had fallen by a revised 13.4% in March. According to the ABS,

• Private dwellings excluding houses fell by 6.5%, while private house approvals fell by 2.6%.

Private New CAPEX fell by 1.7% in the 1^st quarter, following a revised 1.3% rise in the 4^th quarter. Forecasts were for a 0.5% increase. According to figures released by the ABS,

• Expenditure on building and structures fell by 2.8%, dragging down the headline number.
• Spending on equipment, plant, and machinery fell by just 0.5%.
• Year-on-year, private new CAPEX fell by 1.9%. A 5.5% slide in new expenditure on building and structures did the damage.
• New expenditure on equipment, plant, and machinery rose by 2.4%.

The Aussie Dollar moved from $0.69243 to $0.69221 upon release of the figures. At the time of writing, the Aussie Dollar was up 0.23% to $0.6933.

Elsewhere,

At the time of writing, the Japanese Yen was down by 0.09% to ¥109.69 against the U.S Dollar,

The Day Ahead:

For the EUR

Economic data due out of the Eurozone is on the lighter side in the day ahead.

Spanish prelim May inflation figures are due out of the Eurozone later this morning. The markets will likely brush aside the figures, as the focus shifts to economic data due out of the U.S this afternoon.

Outside the stats, we can expect any trade war chatter to also influence.

At the time of writing, the EUR was up 0.09% to $1.1141.

For the Pound

It’s yet another quiet day on the economic calendar leaving Brexit and chatter from Parliament in control of the Pound through the day.

At the time of writing, the Pound was up 0.08% to $1.2636.

Across the Pond

U.S 2^nd estimate, 1^st quarter GDP numbers, weekly jobless claims, trade data, and April home sales figures are due out this afternoon.

While the focus will be on the 1^st quarter GDP numbers and trade data, we can expect house price figures to also have an impact.

Housing sector figures have been disappointing of late, in spite of low mortgage rates and solid labor market conditions. Weak figures will likely raise further concerns over the economic outlook.

Outside of the stats, market risk sentiment and trade chatter will also provide direction through the day.

At the time of writing, the Dollar Spot Index was down 0.02% to 98.122.

For the Loonie

There are no material stats due out later this afternoon.

Following the BoC monetary policy decision on Wednesday, the markets will likely brush aside 1^st quarter current account figures due out this afternoon.

Direction through the day will continue to come from the influence of market risk on crude oil prices.

The Loonie was up 0.08% at C$1.3508, against the U.S Dollar, at the time of writing.