This week brought market participants a range of important macroeconomic releases from major economies—including the US, Eurozone, and UK—as well as key central bank interest rate decisions.
United States:
● At 1:45 p.m. GMT, the Services PMI for April came in at 50.8, below the forecast of 51.4 and down from the previous 54.4.
● At 2:00 p.m. GMT, the ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI for April was published at 51.6, beating the forecast of 50.2 and improving on the previous value of 50.8.
Eurozone:
● At 8:00 a.m. GMT, the S&P Global Composite PMI for April was reported at 50.4, above the forecast of 50.1 but slightly lower than the previous 50.9.
● At the same time, the Services PMI for April came in at 50.1, exceeding the 49.7 forecast but below the previous value of 51.0.
United Kingdom:
● At 8:30 a.m. GMT, the Composite PMI for April was released at 48.5, slightly above the 48.2 forecast but down from the previous 51.5.
Canada:
● At 2:00 p.m. GMT, the Ivey PMI for April came in at 47.9, missing the expected 51.2 and falling from the previous 51.3.
United States:
● At 2:30 p.m. GMT, crude oil inventories showed a draw of -2.032 million barrels, exceeding the expected drop of -1.700 million, though not as large as the prior -2.696 million.
● At 6:00 p.m. GMT, the Federal Reserve announced its interest rate decision, holding the rate steady at 4.50%, in line with both the forecast and the previous level.
United Kingdom:
● At 11:02 a.m. GMT, the Bank of England announced its May interest rate decision, setting it at 4.25%—in line with expectations but down from the previous 4.50%.
United States:
● At 12:30 p.m. GMT, initial jobless claims were reported at 228,000, below the expected 231,000 and down from the prior 241,000.
Canada:
● At 12:30 p.m. GMT, the unemployment rate for April is expected. The forecast stands at 6.8%, up slightly from the prior 6.7%
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