Forex: Daily wrap-up: Key Eurozone Manufacturing PMIs all up

_iNVEZZ.com Wednesday July 24th_:

**EUR/USD**
The French Flash Manufacturing PMI (relative level of business conditions including employment, production, new orders, prices, supplier deliveries, and inventories) came out today as a rise to 49.8 points for this month from June’s 48.4 (revised up from 48.3). Analysts had expected an increase to 48.9 points. The French Flash Services PMI also recorded a rise for the current month – to 48.3 points from the previous reading of 47.2 (revised up from 46.5).

Not to be outdone, Germany’s Flash Manufacturing PMI rose to 50.3 points this month, surpassing expectations for 49.3. In June the level was 48.6, revised from 48.7. German Flash Services PMI for July also increased – to 52.5 points from the prior 50.4 points, revised down from 51.3. The market had expected a rise to 50.9 points.
And the Eurozone’s Flash Manufacturing PMI also logged a rise, to 50.1 points for the current month from June’s 48.8 (revised from 48.7). The Eurozone’s Flash Services PMI kept up the pace, increasing to 49.6 points from the previous 48.3 (revised down from 48.6).

So also across the Atlantic today, where the US Flash Manufacturing PMI for July came out up at 53.2 points from the prior 51.9 (revised down from 52.2).
Staying in the United States, new single-dwelling home sales were today reported as 497,000 in June, well up on the expected 482,000 and the prior month’s 459,000, revised down from 476,000.
The US Energy Information Administration announced today that crude oil inventories fell by 2.8 million barrels last week, as against the prior week’s drop of 6.9 million.

**GBP/USD**
The Confederation of British Industry today released a report on its industrial trends survey – order expectations, which showed a climb to -12 points in July from the prior -18 points.
After seven days of gains, the GBP/USD has slowed down so far today and is trading below the 1.5400 level.
The main target to the upside in the medium term would be the 17 June high of 1.5750.

**USD/JPY**
Japan’s Ministry of Finance issued the June trade balance today, revealing a deficit of ¥0.60 trillion – a 12th consecutive month on the red. In June y/y, exports grew by 7.4 percent (fourth consecutive month of rises) and imports rose by 11.8 percent (eighth straight month of increases).
Hideki Matsumura, senior economist at the Japanese Research Institute, commented after release of the trade balance report that, like other observers, he had thought exports would have grown more and that the numbers indicate that the global economy wasn’t yet on a clear recovery path. According to Matsumura, the Institute expected Japan’s external trade deficit to turn around some time next year.
The NIKKEI 225 index closed today at 14,731.28, or 0.32 percent down.
**AUD/USD**
Australia’s Q2 CPI was released by the Bureau of Statistics today, indicating growth by 0.4 percent and matching the prior result. Analysts had forecasted a rise of 0.5 percent. Simultaneously the Reserve Bank of Australia announced the Q2 Trimmed Mean CPI, which increased by 0.5 percent, matching expectations and surpassing the prior quarter’s growth of 0.4 percent (revised up from 0.3 percent).
Yesterday copper prices on the London Metals Exchange dropped 0.3 percent to $6961.0/MT, while aluminium increased 0.4 percent to $1801.5/MT.
**USD/CAD**
No significant economic releases are due from Canada today, likewise tomorrow and Friday.
The CAD has been gaining against the USD since 5 July and today the pair dropped to a 29-day low of 1.0261. Currently the pair is changing hands slightly up at 1.0275.
At the moment the price is testing an ascending trendline which connects the 9 May and 14 June lows.
**USD/CHF**
Switzerland also hasn’t produced any significant economic releases today and indeed none such are expected until Wednesday of next week.
Right now the USD/CHF is trading at 0.9349 – back at the day’s opening price after spending the day so far in the range 0.9339 to 0.9381.
The pair has been in descent since 9 July and, if the downtrend continues, may fall further to test the 13 June low of 0.9129.

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