Not much on the economic calendar today
Good day, everyone! Hope you’re all doing well as we gear towards the European trading session later. Markets are generally lively as the focus remains on US-China trade tensions, with USD/JPY now finding room below the 110.00 handle. But the notable mover today has been the kiwi after it fell as the RBNZ moved to cut its OCR by 25 bps to 1.50%.
With little of note in the calendar day ahead, expect market participants to keep their focus on risk sentiment as we move closer to trade talks between US and China tomorrow.
0545 GMT – Switzerland April unemployment rate
Prior release can be found here. Labour market conditions in Switzerland has been tightening since 2018 and the data here should continue to signal similar sentiment. Not a major release by any means.
0600 GMT – Germany March industrial production data
Prior release can be found here. An indication of industrial activity in the German economy, but this will feed into Q1 data in which we know has been rather soft as a whole. Given the context, this is a minor data point.
0730 GMT – UK April Halifax house prices data
Was scheduled for yesterday but appears to be delayed. Prior release can be found here. General indication of housing market sentiment in the UK economy. A minor data point.
1100 GMT – US MBA mortgage applications w.e. 3 May
Weekly US housing data, measures the change in number of applications for mortgages backed by the MBA during the week. Not the biggest of data points, but a general indicator of the housing sector sentiment.