Weekly Roundup Report 04/08/2017
EVENT RECAP: WEEK ENDING 4th AUGUST 2017
North America
The labour market defied expectations again with a rise of 209,000 payrolls against a forecast of 182,000. Average Hourly Earnings also rose in line with expectations and given the correlation between wage growth and inflation the result indicates consumer prices may be on the rise. At the same time, the unemployment rate also declined indicating that the employment market is tightening. The Manufacturing sector appears to be maintaining a steady pace of growth reaching 56.3 points in July, in line with expectations. The U.S. Services sector continued to a 91-month run of growth, however, business activity and new orders declined during the month.
Asia Pacific
China Manufacturing data pointed to steady growth in the sector with the Caixin index beating expectations to 51.1 points. The services component of the index showed growth although expanding, is still struggling to gain any traction as sentiment appears to have moderated during the third quarter.
Consumer confidence in Japan is rising despite indicating the economy is in contraction, yet beat expectations in July. Consumers appear to be slightly more optimistic than the previous month as retail sales climbed 0.3%.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom stole the show during the last trading week. The Bank of England kept the Bank rate at an all-time low of 0.25%. However, the bank revised down the growth forecast for the remainder of the year into 2018 which weighed heavily on the pound. Manufacturing and Construction data was mixed, as growth in the construction sector reached its lowest level since last August. By contrast, the Manufacturing sector saw growth in new orders boosted by a rise in exports. Similarly, the U.K. Services sector saw a rise in business activity in July, although at a moderate pace.
Europe
There were no surprises in the Eurozone with initial estimates of CPI and GDP meeting expectations at 1.3% and 0.6% respectively.
INT
Promotions 