Germany: Hopes of a gradual industrial recovery alive - ING

Sandeep Kanihama FXStreet Contributor

According to Carsten Brzeski, chief economist at ING, Germany’s first industrial data for the second quarter keeps the hope of a gradual industrial recovery alive as industrial orders were up by 0.3% MoM in April, increasing for the second month in a row from an upwardly revised 0.8% MoM in March.

Key Quotes

“On the year, industrial orders were down by 5.3%, from -5.9% YoY in March. Excluding bulk orders, new orders were even up by 2.1% MoM. This is some welcome relief for German industry.”

“German industry is still suffering from global uncertainty on the back of trade conflicts. Since last summer foreign orders have dropped by a monthly average of 0.6%. At the same time, however, domestic demand has also weakened, particularly since the start of the year. While domestic new orders remained stable in the second half of 2018, they collapsed in the first quarter, dropping by a total of 7% between January and March. Today's strong numbers only marginally offset the losses of the first months.”

“All of this means that while today's industrial order data is defintely good news and gives reason for moderate optimism, it will still take a while before industry returns as a powerful growth engine for the entire German economy.”

Author

Sandeep Kanihama

FXStreet Contributor

Sandeep Kanihama is an FX Editor and Analyst with FXstreet having principally focus area on Asia and European markets with commodity, currency and equities coverage. He is stationed in the Indian capital city of Delhi.

GBP/USD flirts with two-day lows near 1.3180

GBP/USD remains on the back foot in the latter part of Tuesday’s session, sliding to the sub-1.3200 area and challenging weekly lows. Cable’s decline comes as investors assess the political uncertainty in the UK, coupled with softer-than-expected UK PMI data and the better tone in the Greenback.

EUR/USD weakens below 1.1400 on stronger Dollar

EUR/USD adds to Monday’s losses and recedes below the 1.1400 support to clinch fresh 13-month lows in the latter part of Tuesday’s NA session. The pair’s marked sell-off comes on the back of the persistent move higher in th US Dollar, always propped up by rising bets of further tightening by the Fed.

Gold loses ground to near $4,100 as inflation concerns, Fed rate hike bets build

Gold price loses momentum to around $4,100 during the early Asian session on Wednesday. The precious metal extends the decline as traders cement views on the US Federal Reserve hiking interest rates this year.

Australia CPI set to show inflation accelerated again in May

The Australian Bureau of Statistics will publish the high-impact Consumer Price Index for May on Wednesday at 01:30 GMT. Heading into the inflation test, the Australian Dollar is at its lowest level in two months against the US Dollar, having surrendered the 0.7000 psychological mark.

"Rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic": UK's fiscal crisis outlasts another Prime Minister

Keir Starmer's resignation as the UK Prime Minister comes ten years after the Brexit referendum vote, a coincidence that financial markets have been quick to note. The British Pound trades around 1.3220 against the US Dollar on Thursday.

Regime change: Inside Kevin Warsh's first move to make the Fed unreadable on purpose

The rate did not move. That was the least interesting thing about Kevin Warsh's first meeting in charge of the Fed. The FOMC held its benchmark at 3.50%-3.75% for the fourth straight meeting, exactly as priced, and then the new chair used his first press conference to dismantle the machinery the market has leaned on for a decade.