Key Points:
• The G7 economic summit in Japan has come to a close. Meanwhile the Russian Foreign minister knocked the G7 for “indulging in their own greatness” and trying to disrupt the Russia and China agenda.
• US House speaker McCarthy says no debt limit has been agreed yet.
• US Consumer spending up 0.4% in April.
• The Peoples Bank of China left rates unchanged at 3.65% (1 year) and maintained the 5-year LPR at 4.30%
• ECB’s Cos says they still have a way to go before they ease policy.
• Fed’s Powell still believes they need to start cutting rates before year end.
• The Eurozone consumer confidence indicator improved slightly in May but remains well below the long-term average.
• The New Zealand Dollar (NZD) has easily been the best performer over the past week, while the Japanese Yen (JPY) has been the worst performer.
Major Announcements last week:
Canadian CPI m/m 0.7% vs 0.5% forecast
US Retail Sales 0.4% vs 0.8% expected
Australian unemployment 3.7% up from 3.5% in April
US Unemployment Claims 242,000 vs 253,000 beating estimates
G7 in Japan winds up