Thread: Forex News from InstaForex

China Inflation -0.8% On Month In May



Consumer prices in China tumbled 0.8 percent on month in May, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday - missing expectations for a fall of 0.5 percent following the 0.9 percent drop in April.

On a yearly basis, consumer prices rose 2.4 percent - also shy of forecasts for an increase of 2.7 percent and down sharply from 3.3 percent in the previous month.

The bureau also said that producer prices were down 3.7 percent on year versus expectations of a fall of 3.3 percent following the 3.1 percent slide a month earlier.

News are provided by
InstaForex.

UK House Price Balance At 10-Year Low: RICS



The UK house price indicator moved deeper into negative territory in May amid coronavirus pandemic, survey data from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, or RICS, showed Thursday.

The house price balance fell to -32 percent in May from -22 percent in April. This was the weakest monthly figure since 2010.

Moreover, near-term price expectations remained downbeat, with the index standing at -43 percent. Further, a net -16 percent forecast prices to fall over the year ahead. The survey showed that there was a slight improvement in the sales outlook as estate agents were permitted to reopen on May 13. Nonetheless, given the economic uncertainty caused by the pandemic, overall sentiment remained cautions.

The net balance for new buyer enquiries rose to -5 percent in May from a record low of -94 percent in April.

Despite a net balance of -20 percent of contributors reporting that new instructions coming onto the market continued to fall in May, this was noticeably less negative compared to the reading of -97 percent last month, RICS said.

Further, the net balance for near term sales expectations advanced to -4 percent from -58 percent in April.

News are provided by
InstaForex.

UK House Price Balance At 10-Year Low: RICS



The UK house price indicator moved deeper into negative territory in May amid coronavirus pandemic, survey data from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, or RICS, showed Thursday.

The house price balance fell to -32 percent in May from -22 percent in April. This was the weakest monthly figure since 2010.

Moreover, near-term price expectations remained downbeat, with the index standing at -43 percent. Further, a net -16 percent forecast prices to fall over the year ahead. The survey showed that there was a slight improvement in the sales outlook as estate agents were permitted to reopen on May 13. Nonetheless, given the economic uncertainty caused by the pandemic, overall sentiment remained cautions.

The net balance for new buyer enquiries rose to -5 percent in May from a record low of -94 percent in April.

Despite a net balance of -20 percent of contributors reporting that new instructions coming onto the market continued to fall in May, this was noticeably less negative compared to the reading of -97 percent last month, RICS said.

Further, the net balance for near term sales expectations advanced to -4 percent from -58 percent in April.

News are provided by
InstaForex.

South Korea Export Prices Rise 0.6% In May



Export prices in South Korea were up 0.6 percent on month in May, the Bank of Korea said on Friday - following the 2.2 percent monthly decline in April.

On a yearly basis, export prices sank 8.2 percent after dropping 6.5 percent in the previous month.

Prices for agricultural, forestry and marine exports fell 0.7 percent on month and 3.8 percent on year, while prices for manufacturing products added 0.7 percent on month and lost 8.2 percent on year.

Import prices were up 4.2 percent on month and down 12.8 percent on year after falling 5.7 percent on month and 14.6 percent on year in April.

News are provided by
InstaForex.

China's Industrial Output Rises, Retail Sales Fall



China's industrial production growth accelerated and retail sales decreased at a slower pace in May, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed Monday.

Industrial production grew 4.4 percent on a yearly basis in May, faster than the 3.9 percent increase logged in April. Economists had forecast a 5 percent rise.

Retail sales dropped at a slower pace of 2.8 percent in May from last year, slower than the 7.5 percent decrease seen in April. Sales were forecast to fall 2 percent.

During January to May, fixed asset investment decreased 6.3 percent from the same period of last year. Economists had forecast a 5.9 percent fall.

The People's Bank of China injected CNY 200 billion funds into the financial system via medium-term lending facility at a rate of 2.95 percent, unchanged from previous operation.

News are provided by
InstaForex.

Euro Little Changed After Eurozone Trade Data



At 5.00 am ET Monday, Eurostat has published euro area foreign trade figures for April. The euro changed little against its major rivals after the data.

The euro was trading at 120.83 against the yen, 1.1261 against the greenback, 1.0708 against the franc and 0.8981 against the pound around 5:05 am ET.

News are provided by
InstaForex.

New Zealand Has NZ$1.6 Billion Current Account Shortfall



New Zealand had a seasonally adjusted current account deficit of NZ$1.6 billion in the first quarter of 2020, Statistics New Zealand said on Wednesday.

That missed expectations for a surplus of NZ$1.482 billion but was an improvement over the NZ$2.66 billion shortfall in the three months prior.

The seasonally adjusted goods deficit narrowed to NZ$213 million, while the services surplus narrowed to NZ$983 million.

The primary income deficit widened to NZ$2.2 billion and the financial account recorded a net outflow of NZ$7.7 billion.

News are provided by
InstaForex.

European Economics Preview: Bank Of England Rate Decision Due



Monetary policy meetings of the Bank of England and Swiss National Bank are due on Thursday, headlining a busy day for European economic news.

Economists widely expect the monetary policy committee of the BoE to expand its quantitative easing by at least GBP 100 billion from the current size of GBP 645 billion. The interest rate is expected to remain at a record low 0.1 percent.

The BoE is scheduled to release its summary and the minutes of the meeting at 7.00 am ET.

The Swiss National Bank is expected to hold its policy rate and interest on sight deposits at -0.75 percent. The announcement is due at 3.30 am ET.

At 4.00 am ET, Italy's Istat is slated to release foreign trade data for April.

At 4.00 am ET, Norges Bank announces its rate decision. In the meantime, Statistics Poland publishes employment growth data for May.

At 5.00 am ET, the Hellenic Statistical Authority publishes unemployment data for March.

News are provided by
InstaForex.

Australia Retail Sales Rebound At Record Pace In May



Australia's retail sales expanded in May at the fastest pace in the 38 year history of the series, after the easing of coronavirus containment measures, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed Friday.

Retail sales grew by 16.3 percent on a monthly basis in May, the biggest on record, following a record decline of 17.7 percent in April.

Turnover rose 5.3 percent from the same period last year.

There were large increases in turnover in clothing, footwear and personal accessory retailing and cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services, as restrictions eased throughout the month.

Data showed that the monthly rise in clothing, footwear and personal accessory retailing exceeded 100 percent but remained more than 20 percent from last year.

Food retailing rose 7.2 percent from April. At the same time, perishable goods turnover advanced 7.0 percent and non-perishable goods turnover gained 3.8 percent. and All other products turnover gained 5.8 percent in May.

News are provided by
InstaForex.

China Leaves Benchmark Lending Rates Unchanged



China left its benchmark lending rates unchanged for the second straight month despite the economy struggling to recover from the impact of the coronavirus crisis.

The one-year loan prime rate was retained at 3.85 percent and the five-year loan prime rate was maintained at 4.65 percent.

The one-year and five-year loan prime rates were last reduced in April. The one-year loan prime rate was lowered by 20 basis points and five-year rate by 10 basis points in April.

The loan prime rate is fixed monthly based on the submission of 18 banks, though Beijing has influence over the rate-setting. This new lending rate replaced the central bank's traditional benchmark lending rate in August 2019.

Last week, the People's Bank of China injected CNY 200 billion funds into the financial system via medium-term lending facility at a rate of 2.95 percent, unchanged from the previous operation.

With fiscal stimulus ramping up and economic recovery well underway, the PBoC appears to see less of a need to encourage stronger private borrowing, Julian Evans-Pritchard, an economist at Capital Economics, said.

Broad credit growth still looks set to accelerate further in the coming quarters. But short-term interest rates are unlikely to decline much further, the economist noted.

Iris Pang, an ING economist said she is looking for a targeted RRR cut this week, by 0.5 percentage points for some banks on the specific requirement to use the liquidity for small and medium sized enterprises.

News are provided by
InstaForex.