Moderate Growth to Continue
- Activity outside of the manufacturing sector expanded at a faster clip in April, with the ISM non-manufacturing rising 1.3 points. At 57.8, the index suggests that, despite a weak Q1 GDP print, the economy is trending at a moderate pace.
- The business activity index rose to its highest mark since November, while a rise in new orders suggests the pipeline remains strong.
Trend in Employment Remains Strong
- The employment index came in at 56.7 and has indicated little change in the trend rate of employment growth over the past few months. While the ISM manufacturing index indicated factory sector employment fell in April, we look for a solid bounce back in payroll growth in Friday’s employment report.
- Inflation pressures look to remain muted. The prices paid index fell to 50.1, a shade above its six-month average of 50.4.
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AUD/USD remained bid above 0.6500
AUD/USD extended further its bullish performance, advancing for the fourth session in a row on Thursday, although a sustainable breakout of the key 200-day SMA at 0.6526 still remain elusive.
EUR/USD faces a minor resistance near at 1.0750
EUR/USD quickly left behind Wednesday’s small downtick and resumed its uptrend north of 1.0700 the figure, always on the back of the persistent sell-off in the US Dollar ahead of key PCE data on Friday.
Gold holds around $2,330 after dismal US data
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Bitcoin price continues to get rejected from $65K resistance as SEC delays decision on spot BTC ETF options
Bitcoin (BTC) price has markets in disarray, provoking a broader market crash as it slumped to the $62,000 range on Thursday. Meanwhile, reverberations from spot BTC exchange-traded funds (ETFs) continue to influence the market.
US economy: slower growth with stronger inflation
The dollar strengthened, and stocks fell after statistical data from the US. The focus was on the preliminary estimate of GDP for the first quarter. Annualised quarterly growth came in at just 1.6%, down from the 2.5% and 3.4% previously forecast.