Monday 09 May
- China reported CPI of +2.3% YoY in April which is both in-line with March and relative to expectations. Meanwhile, PPI increased by more than expected to -3.4% YoY (vs. -3.7%).
- In the US, the April labour market conditions index printed at -0.9pts following a -2.1pts reading in March.
- The IMF, European finance ministers and the Greek government came to an agreement on a path forward to help Greece to receive the funding its needs for bond payments due in July.
- German factory orders data showed a positive print at +1.9% MoM for March (vs. +0.6% expected) to be up +1.7% YoY now. Elsewhere the Sentix investor confidence reading printed at 6.2pts for May which is half a point higher relative to April.
Tuesday 10 May
- In the US, wholesale inventories were reported as rising +0.1% MoM in March as expected, while trade sales were +0.7% MoM (vs. +0.5% expected). The Atlanta Fed revised up their Q2 GDP forecast to 2.2% from the 1.7% estimate.
- In Europe it was a little mixed, industrial production in Germany (-1.3% MoM vs. -0.3% expected), France (-0.3% MoM vs. +0.7% expected) and Italy (0.0% MoM vs. +0.2% expected) missed expectations. German exports in March (+1.9% MoM vs. 0.0% expected) were better that expectated which helped Germany to further widen its trade surplus.
Wednesday 11 May
- In the US, the April Monthly Budget Statement showed a $106.5bn surplus which largely matched expectations.
- UK industrial production was reported as rising slower than expected in March (+0.3% MoM vs. +0.5% expected). The YoY rate now however has fallen to -0.2% with the Q1 print of -0.4% representing a second consecutive quarterly decline, and therefore implying that the UK industrial sector is back in recession.
Thursday 12 May
- In the US, initial jobless were reported as increasing 20k last week to 294k (vs. 270k expected) which is the highest level since February 2015. Meanwhile, US import price index was recorded as increasing +0.3% MoM (vs. +0.6%).
- In Europe the industrial production for the Euro area was -0.8% MoM in March (expectations had been for 0.0%) which brought the YoY rate down to +0.2% (from +1.0%). French CPI came in at +0.1% MoM for the month of March, with the YoY rate at -0.2%.
- In the UK, following the Bank of England monetary policy meeting, the base interest rate was kept at 0.5%.
Friday 13 May
- In Europe, Germany’s Q1 GDP was reported as a gain of 0.7% YoY, beating expectations of 0.6%, whilst Italian Q1 GDP was also better than expected at 1% YoY. French non-farm payroll and Spanish CPI both came in close to expectation.
- In the US, the main focus was on retail sales (MoM) in April, which had the largest monthly gain in a year at 1.3% versus a forecast of 0.8%. Price inflation indicators were generally in line with expectations, with April Core PPI coming in at 0.9% (compare to 1.0% expected).
| Index | Actual price | Week to date | Month to date | Year to date |
| S&P 500 | 2064.1 | 0.3 | -0.1 | 1.0 |
| Eurostoxx 600 | 332.2 | 0.2 | -2.7 | -9.2 |
| Nikkei | 16412.2 | 1.9 | -1.5 | -13.8 |
| MSCI Emerging Markets | 806.7 | 0.2 | -4.0 | 1.6 |
| FTSE 100 | 6079.78 | -0.75 | -2.60 | -2.60 |
| Treasury yield 10 years | 1.74 | -0.04 | -0.09 | -0.53 |
| Bund yield 10 years | 0.15 | 0.00 | -0.13 | -0.48 |
| Gilt yield 10 years | 1.39 | -0.03 | -0.21 | -0.57 |
| USD vs Sterling | 1.438 | -0.31 | -1.57 | -2.40 |
| Sterling vs Euro | 0.787 | -0.47 | -0.41 | -6.34 |
| USD vs Emerging Markets FX | 67.875 | -0.20 | -2.40 | 3.41 |
| Commodity Index | 182.1 | 1.2 | -1.3 | 3.4 |
| Gold | 1266.5 | -1.7 | -2.1 | 19.4 |
| Brent Oil | 47.4 | 4.4 | -1.6 | 27.0 |
x
*As with all investing, financial instruments involve inherent risks, including loss of capital, market fluctuations and liquidity risk. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. It is important to consider your risk tolerance and investment objectives before proceeding.
