24 Jan 2014
European Open: A quiet data day, Carney to speak in Davos
FXstreet.com (London) - There was little in the way of important data overnight to drive the Asian session. Markets remained in a broadly risk-off environment with concerns over Chinese demand continuing to drag after yesterday’s flash PMI. China's HSBC Flash Manufacturing PMI fell to a six-month low of 49.6 in January, down from 50.5 in December. The sub-50 number indicates manufacturing has slipped into contraction.
The Hang Seng fell 0.86 percent overnight to 22,539.38. The Nikkei dropped 1.97 percent to 15,391.56.
It’s a light data day in Europe with Spanish producer price index numbers and Italian retail sales. In the UK, BBA mortgage approvals are published today, expected to rise to 47.2k, up from 45k.
Bank of England governor Mark Carney will be speaking today at Davos. Speaking at the CBI British Business Leaders Lunch, following yesterday’s UK unemployment drop to 7.1 percent, he is expected to emphasise that the 7.0 percent threshold is just that, and not a trigger point for an inflation hike. With UK unemployment falling faster than forecast he is now expected to shift his focus to inflation, allowing the unemployment declines to run further rather than revise the threshold to 6.5 percent.
There are no major data releases on the US calendar today, while Canadian December CPI will be in focus. In the report released alongside the Bank of Canada’s interest rate decision earlier this week, it emphasised the downside inflation risks, a running problem for BoC governor Stephen Poloz. Consensus expectations are for a month-on-month fall in the December CPI, down 0.4 percent after last month’s 0.1 percent drop.
The Hang Seng fell 0.86 percent overnight to 22,539.38. The Nikkei dropped 1.97 percent to 15,391.56.
It’s a light data day in Europe with Spanish producer price index numbers and Italian retail sales. In the UK, BBA mortgage approvals are published today, expected to rise to 47.2k, up from 45k.
Bank of England governor Mark Carney will be speaking today at Davos. Speaking at the CBI British Business Leaders Lunch, following yesterday’s UK unemployment drop to 7.1 percent, he is expected to emphasise that the 7.0 percent threshold is just that, and not a trigger point for an inflation hike. With UK unemployment falling faster than forecast he is now expected to shift his focus to inflation, allowing the unemployment declines to run further rather than revise the threshold to 6.5 percent.
There are no major data releases on the US calendar today, while Canadian December CPI will be in focus. In the report released alongside the Bank of Canada’s interest rate decision earlier this week, it emphasised the downside inflation risks, a running problem for BoC governor Stephen Poloz. Consensus expectations are for a month-on-month fall in the December CPI, down 0.4 percent after last month’s 0.1 percent drop.