Global manufacturing PMI hits 2-year low in July as production falls The global manufacturing PMI fell to a 2-year low of 51.1 in July from 52.2 in June. Output fell in the U.S., Eurozone, UK, and Japan, while mainland China saw a reduced rate of expansion and the rest of Asia as whole likewise mustered only modest growth. Forward-looking indicators, such as new order inflows and future output expectations, suggest the deterioration of performance will gather momentum in the near-term. Employment growth has also slowed to a near-standstill and looks set to weaken further. A worrying indication of the health of manufacturing was a decline in global exports for a fifth successive month in July, with the rate of decline accelerating to the second-fastest for two years.
UK average house price falls for the first time in a year in June Across the UK, the annual rate of price growth slowed to 11.8% in July, down from 12.5% in June. The 0.1% drop means that property prices are down just £365 from June’s record high. Still, house prices remain more than £30,000 higher than this time last year, according to Halifax’s house price index. The average house price in the UK has dropped for the first time since June 2021 to £293,221. Bigger houses are outpacing smaller homes when it comes to price increases, with the price tag of a detached house jumping by £60,860 over the last year, a 15.1% climb. Flat prices rose £11,962, a 7.7% increase over the same period.
Japan ran first current account falling steepest to 8-year low The Finance Minister reported that Japan ran a current account deficit for the first time in five months in June of ¥132.4 billion ($980 million) as surging imports eclipsed exports. High prices for energy sources like oil and coal drove the value of imports to a record, surging 49%yoy and outpacing a 20% rise in the value of exports led by “mineral fuels” and steel. The surplus in the current account balance, one of the widest gauges of international trade, fell to the lowest level since it sank into the red in the first half of 2014. Also, the fall was the second steepest for a half-year period following the second half of 2008.
Dollar rallies on upbeat U.S. job reports, taking into a USDTHB rebound waiting for MPC rate-hike meeting The 10-year government bond yield (interpolated) on the previous trading day was 2.54, +4.91 bps. The benchmark government bond yield (LB31DA) was 2.38, -6.0 bps. LB31DA could be between 2.4-2.5. Meantime, the latest closed US 10-year bond yields was 2.83, +7.00 bps. USDTHB on the previous trading day closed around 35.83 Moving in a range of 35.73-35.84 this morning. USDTHB could be closed between 35.6-36.0 today. The dollar has improved somewhat after the index bottomed out near the 105.00 (August 2) in response to recession-induced weakness. Since Friday’s stellar figures from July’s Payrolls reignited the prospects for another large rate hike at the September event. Besides, despite the pressure from domestic inflation is somewhat released according to July’s data report, it also expected the MPC might gradually withdraw economic accelerators and raise the rate hike in this Wednesday-meeting (August 10) which taking into a USDTHB rebound.
Sources : Bloomberg, CNBC, Investing, CEIC
