The dollar is recovering some of yesterday’s losses against the Euro and the British pound Thursday, but is down slightly against the Japanese Yen. Investors are looking forward to the Federal Reserve meeting next week. The Fed is widely expected to raise interest rates for the first time since the financial crisis.
First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits rose to a five-month high in the week ended December 5th, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday. The report said initial jobless claims climbed to 282,000, an increase of 13,000 from the previous week’s unrevised level of 269,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 270,000.
With the bigger than expected increase, jobless claims reached their highest level since hitting 296,000 in the week ended July 4th.
Import prices in the U.S. fell by less than expected in the month of November, the Labor Department revealed in a report on Thursday, although the report also showed a bigger than expected drop in export prices during the month.
The Labor Department said import prices dropped by 0.4 percent in November after falling by a revised 0.3 percent in October. Economists had expected import prices to slump by 0.8 percent compared to the 0.5 percent decrease originally reported for the previous month.
Meanwhile, the Labor Department said export prices slid by 0.6 percent in November after edging down by 0.2 percent in October. Export prices had been expected to dip to by 0.3 percent.
Yves Mersch, a member of the European Central Bank’s six persom executive board stated that a majority of the ECB governors did not want to increase quantitative easing measures last week. Mersch stated Wednesday that “The very large majority of the Governing Council is of the view that the measures are appropriate and that more is not needed to reach our goal.”
The dollar has rebounded to around $1.0935 against the Euro Thursday afternoon, from yesterday’s 1-month low of $1.1041.
French industrial production unexpectedly grew in October after stagnating in the previous month, while manufacturing output defied expectations for a modest growth and decreased for a second straight month, preliminary data from the statistical office INSEE showed Thursday.
Industrial production increased 0.5 percent from September, when it remained unchanged. Economists had expected production to fall 0.1 percent, erasing the similar size gain originally reported for September.
French consumer prices remained flat in November, defying economists’ expectations for a further increase, figures from the statistical office Insee showed Thursday. The consumer price index showed no variations in November from a year ago, following a 0.1 percent rise in October. Economists had expected a 0.2 percent climb for the month.
French payroll employment almost stabilized in the third quarter, the statistical office Insee reported Thursday. Payroll employment in the non-farm market sectors fell slightly by 900 or 0.0 percent, following an increase of 28,400 in the second quarter.
The Bank of England kept its key rates unchanged at a record low again as widely expected, in a split vote at the final monetary policy meeting of the year.
The Monetary Policy Committee, headed by Mark Carney, voted 8-1 to hold the interest rate at 0.50 percent on Thursday. The rate has been at the current record low level since early 2009.
The MPC voted unanimously to maintain quantitative easing at GBP 375 billion.
All members agreed that when Bank Rate does begin to rise, it is expected to do so more gradually and to a lower level than in recent cycles.
The buck has risen to around $1.5160 against the pound sterling this afternoon, from a 2-week low of $1.52 this morning.
The U.K. visible trade deficit widened to a three-month high in October on rising imports, the Office for National Statistics reported Thursday.
The visible trade deficit increased more-than-expected to GBP 11.8 billion from GBP 8.8 billion in September. This was the highest shortfall since July, when it totaled GBP 12.2 billion. It was forecast to rise to GBP 9.6 billion.
The house price balance in the United Kingdom came in at 49 percent in November, the latest survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors showed on Thursday. That beats forecasts for a reading of 48 percent but was down from the upwardly revised 50 percent in October.
The greenback has slipped to around Y121.610 against the Japanese Yen this afternoon, from an early high of Y121.865.
Producer prices in Japan were down 0.1 percent on month in November, the Bank of Japan said on Thursday. That beat forecasts for a decline of 0.3 percent following the 0.6 percent contraction in October.
Business sentiment in Japan weakened notably in three months to December, the quarterly survey by the Ministry of Finance and the Cabinet office showed Thursday. The Business Survey Index, or BSI, for all industrial fell to 4.6 points from 9.6 in the third quarter. Nonetheless, it is forecast to rise to 5.6 points in the coming quarter.
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company – www.instaforex.com