Even before yesterday some of the upward momentum that had been underpinning the single currency in recent days had started to ebb away. Yesterday’s disappointing economic data continues to raise fears about a Eurozone recovery with below par PMI’s, and slumping retail sales data. Renewed concerns about Italy hadn’t helped either, where services are showing signs of contraction, in the face of some budget tightening and political uncertainty. So the single currency slipped further back when Moody’s … Read more »

More US Disappointment Drags on Markets After a tentative step forward yesterday, markets on both sides of the pond have taken a step back today, unable to sustain upward momentum after US economic data continued to point to a slower economy. US jobless claims rose to 424K last week above the 404K street estimate and still stubbornly above the key 400K level. US Q1 GDP remained at 1.8%, below the 2.2% street estimate. Personal consumption was … Read more »

Bearish sentiment towards the euro continues to build on the basis of a lack of urgency with respect to Greece’s fiscal problems. Another general strike by unions yesterday highlights the concerns that even if further aid were forthcoming there would be no guarantee that the Greek authorities would be able to implement the extra austerity required in exchange for that aid. As two year Greek yields hit 26% it is becoming increasingly clear that a tipping … Read more »

As expected both the Bank of England and the European Central Bank left rates unchanged at their meetings yesterday. The decision to hold UK rates at 0.5% was no doubt borne out of the weaker than expected economic data seen throughout this week, however the decision will continue to be thrown into sharp focus this morning when April producer price data is due out, with year on year input prices expected to rise to an eye … Read more »