US consumer confidence came out better than expected at 95.9 points in the preliminary read for April, already in Q2, after the dreaded Q1. A second US beat in the same day. Does this change everything, or just a bit?
The US dollar is slightly strong, and still hesitating. EUR/USD is trading at 1.0762, just a few pips lower than before the publication, but this is short-lived.
The current conditions figure stand at 108.2, and expectations at 88, a bit higher than last time. This is a rise of about 2 points all in all.
GBP/USD remains under 1.50, USD/JPY clings to 119, AUD/USD is at 0.7777, NZD/USD around 0.7682 and USD/CAD is back up to 1.2150. The loonie stood out in resisting the dollar’s recovery following the inflation data, thanks to its own positive data.
The preliminary read of the University of Michigan / Reuters consumer sentiment was expected to hit 93.8 points in April. the final figure for March stood on 93 points. It had already reached 98.1 points in January.
The US dollar was making yet another comeback, riding higher on a tick up in core inflation, after reaching new lows on quite a few disappointing numbers.
Here is the preview: trading the consumer sentiment with EURUSD.
Consumer confidence is presumably related to consumer spending or retail sales. After the shortfall in March, that hit the dollar badly, there are hopes for a bigger rise in April. This is the theory of Q2 being a significant rebound from Q1.
This is also the last figure for the week, giving the so called “last wordâ€.
At the same time, the CB Leading Index was reported and it carried expectations for a rise of 0.3%. The actual number is +0.2%.
In our latest podcast, we talk about The Confetti Lady that moved Draghi but not Markets
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