- USDTHB: moving in the range 36.22-36.27 this morning supportive level at 36.10 resistance level at 36.40
· SET Index: 1,370.4 (-0.45%), 15 May 2024
· S&P 500 Index: 5,246.7 (+0.48%), 15 May 2024
· Thai 10-year government bond yield (interpolated): 2.76 (-0.69 bps), 15 May 2024
· US 10-year treasury yield: 4.36 (-9.00 bps), 15 May 2024
- Consumer price growth slowed marginally in April; CPI rose an annualized 3.4%
- Japan GDP shrinks more than expected in Q1 as consumption slows
- China's central bank leaves key policy rate unchanged
- Dollar drops to one-month low vs euro before key CPI test
Consumer price growth slowed marginally in April; CPI rose an annualized 3.4% US inflation slowed marginally in April, while the gauge of core prices closely watched by the Federal Reserve decelerated slightly but remained stubbornly elevated. According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on Wednesday, the US consumer price index in April rose 3.4% on an annualized basis, in line with expectations, a small slowdown from the 3.5% growth seen the previous month. On a monthly basis, the index rose 0.3%, a small slowing from the expected 0.4% growth, which had also been seen in March. Meanwhile, the core reading, which strips out volatile items like food and energy, rose 3.6% year-on-year, a smaller rise than the 3.8% growth seen in March. On a month-on-month basis, the core figure increased by 0.3%, below the 0.4% growth seen in March.
Japan GDP shrinks more than expected in Q1 as consumption slows The Japanese economy shrank more than expected in the first quarter of 2024, hit chiefly by a slowdown in consumer spending amid sticky inflation and sluggish wages, while capital spending also slowed. Gross domestic product shrank 0.5% quarter-on-quarter in the three months to March 31, government data showed on Thursday. The reading was more than expectations for a decline of 0.3% and fell sharply from the 0.1% increase seen in the December quarter. GDP shrank 2% year-on-year in Q1, missing expectations for a contraction of 1.5% and declining from the 0.4% growth seen in the prior quarter. The weaker GDP figures were driven chiefly by a 0.7% drop in private consumption through the quarter, which was much bigger than expectations for a decrease of 0.2%. Consumption makes up more than 50% of Japan's economic growth.
China's central bank leaves key policy rate unchanged China's central bank left a key policy rate unchanged when rolling over maturing medium-term lending facility (MLF) loans, in line with market expectations. The steady MLF rate shows the central bank's focus on keeping currency stability, analysts say, even as an unexpected credit contraction in April added to the case for more policy stimulus to prop up the world's second-largest economy. The MLF loan operation also comes days ahead of the finance ministry's scheduled sales of the first batch of 1 trillion yuan in ultra long-term special treasury bonds. The People's Bank of China (PBOC) said it was keeping the rate on 125 billion yuan ($17.28 billion) in one-year MLF loans to some financial institutions unchanged at 2.50% from the previous operation. In a Reuters survey of 32 market watchers, 84% of respondents expected the PBOC to leave the interest rate on MLF rate unchanged.
Dollar drops to one-month low vs euro before key CPI test The 10-year government bond yield (interpolated) on the previous trading day was 2.76, -0.69 bps. The benchmark government bond yield (LB31DA) was 2.76, -1.00 bps. Meantime, the latest closed US 10-year bond yields was 4.36, -9.00 bps. USDTHB on the previous trading day closed around 36.55. Moving in a range of 36.22-36.27 this morning. USDTHB could be closed between 36.10-36.40 today. The dollar dipped to a one-month low versus the euro amid lower Treasury yields as traders braced for a key US inflation report later in the day that could dictate the path of Federal Reserve policy. However, the yen hovered close to a two-week low as a still-gaping yield gap between local bonds and US peers continued to encourage selling of the Japanese currency. The euro edged up 0.03% to $1.0823 in Asian trading hours, and earlier rose to $1.0828 for the first time since April 10. The US dollar index - which measures the currency against six top rivals but is heavily weighted towards the euro - eased 0.11% to 104.94, after dipping to a 1-1/2-week low of 104.92 earlier.
Sources : ttb analytics , Bloomberg, CNBC, Trading economics, Investing, CEIC
