Global Themes

Greenback at lows ahead of China GDP

The greenback slipped further overnight despite a series of strong US data releases.

This week has been dominated by a weaker US dollar with the greenback easing after Tuesday’s inflation reading calmed fears of a price pressure explosion.

Financial markets have cheered the improved sentiment with US shares up strongly overnight.

The Dow Jones gained 0.9% while the technology-focused Nasdaq gained 1.6%. Both markets closed at record highs.

Six-week lows

The USDCNH fell 0.1% to trade at the lowest level since 24 March.

The euro was also weaker with the EURHKD down 0.1%.

The Australian dollar was higher yesterday after another strong result from the local jobs market.

The March employment report found 70.7k jobs were added with the unemployment rate falling from 5.8% to 5.6%.

Chinese GDP

Looking forward, today’s Chinese GDP figures will be the major release.

The market is looking for an incredible 19% increase in quarterly growth as the Chinese economy recovers from last year’s slowdown.

China also reports retail sales, industrial production and urban unemployment.

All numbers are due at 10.00am.