Yesterday, the major currency pairs showed mixed results. The US dollar moved away from the local highs. Despite positive economic reports, the dollar index closed the trading session in the negative zone (-0.36%). The number of initial claims for unemployment benefits for the past week decreased by 8.1% to 259.000. In September, the index of manufacturing activity from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia increased from 18.9 to 23.8. Market expectations were at the level of 17.2.
The largest decrease was demonstrated by the AUD/USD currency pair. The Australian dollar weakened against the US dollar by more than 1.2%. Chairman of the Reserve Bank of Australia Philip Lowe said that the regulator will not rush to raise the interest rate. The current rate of monetary policy ensures stable economic growth and employment.
At the moment, oil quotes are consolidating. Futures for the WTI crude oil are being traded in the range of $50.50-50.75 per barrel.
Market Indicators
Major US stock indices closed in the negative zone: SPDR S&P 500 (NYSE:SPY) (-0.27%), SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE:DIA) (-0.19%), PowerShares QQQ Trust Series 1 (NASDAQ:QQQ) (-0.61%).
The 10-year US government bond yield has moved away from local highs. At the moment, the indicator is at 2.25-2.26%.
The news background on 2017.09.22:
- Statistics on business activity in Germany and the Eurozone at 10:30 (GMT+3:00) and 11:00 (GMT+3:00), respectively;
- Speech of the head of the ECB Draghi at 11:00 (GMT+3:00);
- Reports on inflation and retail sales in Canada at 15:30 (GMT+3:00);
- A number of indexes of business activity in the US at 16:45 (GMT+3:00).
At 22:00 (GMT+3:00) the British Prime Minister Teresa May will give a speech.