The economic activity in the United States' (US) manufacturing sector continued to contract in October, with the Institute for Supply Management's (ISM) Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) dropping to 48.7 from 49.1 in September. This reading came in weaker than the market expectation of 49.5. Other details of the PMI report showed that the Employment Index edged higher to 46 from 45.3 in this period, while the New Orders Index improved to 49.4 from 48.9. Finally, the Prices Pair Index, the input inflation component of the survey, declined to 58 from 61.9. Source: FXstreet
Initial jobless claims in the United States fell by 9,000 from the previous week to 215,000 on the second week of April, contrasting with market expectations that they would rise by 1,000 to 225,000, to mark the lowest number of new claims in over two months. The result continued to reflect a historically tight labor market in the US to extend the momentum from the latest jobs report. In the meantime, continuing claims rose by 41,000 from to 1,885,000 in the prior week, extending their volatile momentum. Source: Trading Economics
The Trump administration confirmed Wednesday morning that the base tariff on products imported into the U.S. from China remains at 145%, after a previously released fact sheet caused confusion in Asian hours. The White House, in a fact sheet on critical minerals released Tuesday afternoon Washington time (early Wednesday in Asia) included language that said China "now faces tariffs of up to 245% on imports into the United States as a result of its retaliatory actions." That language was picked up by some Asian media outlets and Asia-based market analysts who, in the overnight Washington...
Retail Sales in the United States (US) rose by 1.4% in March to $734.9 billion, the US Census Bureau announced on Wednesday. This reading followed the 0.2% increase recorded in February and came in slightly better than the market expectation for an increase 1.3%. On a yearly basis, Retail Sales were up 4.6%. "Total sales for the January 2025 through March 2025 period were up 4.1% from the same period," the press release read. "Retail trade sales were up 1.4% from February 2025, and up 4.6% from last year." Source: FXStreet
British inflation slowed to its weakest in three months in March and other measures watched by the Bank of England cooled too, but higher bills and employer costs will pressure prices soon against the backdrop of U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war. Inflation slowed to an annual rate of 2.6% in March from 2.8% in February, below expectations of 2.7% in a BoE forecast and a Reuters poll of economists. A price drop for computer games and falling fuel prices helped bring down the headline rate although the prices of clothes rose strongly after a surprise fall in February, the Office for...
The Trump administration is planning to use ongoing tariff negotiations to pressure U.S. trading partners to limit their transactions with China, according to the Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the discussions. The report added that the Trump administration wants to use negotiations with more than 70 countries to get them to ban China from shipping products through their countries and to bar Chinese companies from setting up business there to avoid U.S. tariffs. (Newsmaker) Source: FXstreet
Asia-Pacific markets traded higher, tracking Wall Street gains overnight.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 0.41% after hitting a fresh record high on Thursday, while the Topix added 0.61%. South...
Both the STOXX 50 and STOXX 600 hovered around the flatline on Friday, as investors adopted a cautious stance ahead of further developments in trade talks between US President Trump and Chinese...
As the U.S. government shutdown disrupts federal employee paychecks across the country, it also exacerbates the financial hardship of attorneys who represent the poorest members of society when they...