Key Points:
US Dollar index falls on US CPI release.
NZ April Manufacturing PMI 49.1 vs 48.1 predicted.
Bank of England member Saunders has suggested that the April BoE inflation figure will undershoot the bank’s forecast by quite a chunk.
The Australian labour government released its annual budget showing a surplus, the first in 15 years as strong labour growth and mining profits surged. The surplus of AUD 4.2B to June 2023 the first since 2008 financial year and a switch up from the forecast of AUD 37B forecast last October.
Finance Minister Robertson says govt spending is now around 30% of GDP and that the govt fiscal position is strong.
US Federal Budget surplus 176B compared to 235B predicted.
ECB’s Lagarde says they have more to do in the fight against inflation with upside risks significant. ECB’s Nagel saying – we are not done yet with core inflation still too high.
ECB’s Guindos suggests inflation will fall and the eurozone should expect growth in the first and second quarters of 2023.
The New Zealand Dollar (NZD) has been the best performer this week while the Euro (EUR) has been the worst performing currency.