FXStreet (Guatemala) – Sean Callow, analyst at Westpac Banking Corporation noted the key events taking place in the day ahead.
Key Quotes:
“At 11:30am Syd/9:30am Sing/HK we have both Australia April trade balance and retail sales. Westpac is forecasting -A$3.1bn for trade balance, much weaker than the median of -$2.1bn and at the bottom of the range. A $3.1bn deficit would be the largest since Mar 2008. We expect imports to jump 4% in April and exports to fall by 2%, led by weaker iron ore and coal prices as well as weaker coal volumes. A reading near our expectation should hurt AUD, perhaps worth 20-30 pips, assuming retail sales doesn’t surprise on the strong side.”
“Westpac agrees with the 0.3%m/m consensus for retail sales. Conditions were mixed in April. While the February RBA rate cut and housing upturn were positives, sentiment fell before the federal budget and there was concern around job security despite strong official employment data. This should see some of the March softness extend another month.”
“There should be little in today’s Bank of England MPC policy announcement to interest markets. The bank rate is firmly on hold at 0.5% and we will not see any details around the decision until the release of the minutes. The US calendar is limited to initial jobless claims and Fedspeak from governor Tarullo, who tends not to move markets.”
(Market News Provided by FXstreet)