Market Overview
• Currencies recovered Monday against the greenback and stocks have been well supported.
• Markets are pricing a less aggressive Fed policy going forward.
• The ECB are planning sanctions against Chinese companies who are supporting the war in Ukraine.
• NAB Business confidence came in better than expected at 0 vs -1 suggesting April’s outlook was balanced.
• Crude oil settles at 73.00 after being down around 63.00 in early May.
• ECB’s Lane said there is still a lot of inflation momentum.
• Chinese exports rose in April but at a slower pace based on unfulfilled orders a by-product of last year’s covid disruptions.
• German Industrial Production is well down in March -3.4% compared to 2.0% previously and -1.3% expected. Poor automotive performances are mostly to blame.
• The New Zealand Dollar (NZD) has been the best performer this month while the US Dollar (USD) has been the worst performing.
Major Announcements last week:
US Manufacturing April 47.1 vs 46.3 previous
NZ Unemployment dips to 3.4% rom 3.5% in March
RBA hike interest rate 25 points to 3.85%
US Fed raises rates to 5.25% from 5.0%
ECB raises cash rate 25 points to 3.75%
US Non-Farm Payroll comes in hot at 253,000 vs 181,000 predicted
Canadian unemployment remains at 5.0%
US Unemployment ticks lower to 3.4% from 3.5%