- USDTHB: moving in the range 36.58-36.695 this morning supportive level at 36.50 resistance level at 36.80
· SET Index: 1,375.7 (-0.27%), 3 Apr 2024
· S&P 500 Index: 5,211.5 (+0.11%), 3 Apr 2024
· Thai 10-year government bond yield (interpolated): 2.57 (+3.61 bps), 3 Apr 2024
· US 10-year treasury yield: 4.36 (+0.00 bps), 3 Apr 2024
- US service sector expands moderately in March; price pressures easing
- US private employers add 184,000 jobs in March
- Euro zone inflation unexpectedly eases, boosting rate cut case
- Dollar takes a breather ahead of US jobs data
US service sector expands moderately in March; price pressures easing U.S. services industry growth slowed further in March, while a measure of prices paid by businesses for inputs dropped to a four-year low, which bodes well for the inflation outlook. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said on Wednesday that its non-manufacturing PMI fell to 51.4 last month from 52.6 in February. It was the second straight monthly decline in the index since rebounding in January. A reading above 50 indicates growth in the services industry, which accounts for more than two-thirds of the economy. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the index edging up to 52.7 in March. The PMI remains consistent with an economy that continues to expand, though at a moderate pace. Growth is slowing following 525 basis points worth of interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve since March 2022. The U.S. central bank is expected to start cutting rates this year, but the timing will depend on how inflation behaves.
US private employers add 184,000 jobs in March The U.S. private sector added far more jobs than expected in March, pointing to continued strength in the labor market that may impact how Federal Reserve policymakers approach potential interest rate cuts this year. Private sector employment increased by 184,000 jobs last month, according to data from payrolls processor ADP. Economists had forecast jobs growth of 148,000. It was the largest increase in hiring since July, led by leisure and hospitality. Job gains were strong across industries with the exception of professional services, where hiring fell, the report said. For job-stayers, year-over-year pay gains were flat at 5.1% after months of steady deceleration. At the same time, gains for job-changers rose dramatically to 10%, the second straight increase.
Euro zone inflation unexpectedly eases, boosting rate cut case Euro zone inflation fell unexpectedly last month, solidifying the case for the European Central Bank to start lowering borrowing costs from record highs. Consumer price growth in the 20 nations sharing the euro currency slowed to 2.4% in March from 2.6% a month earlier, defying expectations for a steady rate as food, energy and industrial goods prices all pulled the headline figure lower. Underlying inflation, closely watched by the ECB to gauge the durability of price pressures, meanwhile fell to 2.9% from 3.1%, coming below expectations for 3.0%, data from Eurostat, the EU's statistic's agency showed. The only potential concern for the ECB will be that services inflation has been holding steady at 4.0% for months now, suggesting that relatively quick wage growth is keeping prices in the sector under constant pressure.
Dollar takes a breather ahead of US jobs data The 10-year government bond yield (interpolated) on the previous trading day was 2.57, +3.61 bps. The benchmark government bond yield (LB31DA) was 2.53, +4.00 bps. Meantime, the latest closed US 10-year bond yields was 4.36, +0.00 bps. USDTHB on the previous trading day closed around 36.67. Moving in a range of 36.58-36.695 this morning. USDTHB could be closed between 36.50-36.80 today. The dollar was pinned beneath recent peaks on Thursday with traders taking remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell as reassuring on the likelihood of interest rate cuts this year while waiting for the latest U.S. labor market readout. An unexpected slowdown in U.S. services growth also supported cut expectations and weighed on the dollar, though for the year so far it remains the best-performing G10 currency as those expectations are far more modest than three months ago. The yen, which has been frozen lately by the risk of official intervention, hardly enjoyed much relief either, and at 151.56 was more or less where it has been for three weeks.
Sources : ttb analytics , Bloomberg, CNBC, Trading economics, Investing, CEIC
