The Euro recovers by +0.2 to +0.3% against the Dollar: this evening, the momentum remains bullish for the Euro, which rallies towards 1.0820 (versus 1.0800 at midday.
The Dollar slumped in the early afternoon (from 14:30) after the publication of several ‘stats’, including against the Pound (+0.35%) and above all against the Yen (-0.65% to 151.7)… but it holds firm against the Swiss Franc (parity unchanged). but it is holding steady against the Swiss franc (parity unchanged).
The $-Index dropped -0.3% to 104.15, and seems to have weakened following the publication of US private sector growth figures.
The pace of growth has picked up slightly this month, according to S&P Global’s composite PMI, which came in at 54.3 in flash estimate for October, after 54 the previous month.
The October PMI level thus reflects robust expansion in private-sector activity, driven however solely by services, while manufacturing output contracted for a 3rd consecutive month.
Real estate figures remain mixed: resales of older homes fell by -1% in September, but new home sales recovered by +4.1% ( 738,000 annualized) after falling by 2.3% in August.
The Commerce Department reports that the median price of new homes sold was $426,300, and their average price was $501,000 (an all-time record). The inventory of new homes ready for sale stands at 470,000, representing a supply of 7.6 months at the current rate.
The Labor Department reports that new jobless claims in the US fell by 15,000 to 227,000 in the week to October 14.
The four-week moving average – more representative of the underlying trend – came in at 238,500, up 2,000 week-on-week.
Unemployment claims had risen recently due to the hurricanes (‘Milton’) and the strike at Boeing, which is disrupting its suppliers and subcontractors”, noted Oddo BHF.
There were also PMIs on the menu in the Eurozone: PMI surveys show a divide between industry and services.
Industrial weakness is more marked in Europe, but in services too, Europe is lagging behind’, pointed out Oddo BHF at the start of the week.
Down to 47.3 this month from 48.6 in September, the HCOB composite flash PMI index of overall activity in France fell below the unchanged 50 mark for the second month running in October.
The HCOB composite PMI flash index for overall activity in the Eurozone stood at 49.7 in October, very close to the level recorded in September (49.6), suggesting a very slight decline in overall activity in the region for a second consecutive month.
Business sentiment in France also fell in October, according to the synthetic indicator calculated by Insee, which dropped one point to 97. This is the result of a significant drop in sentiment in industry, not quite offset by an improvement in services.
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