- USDTHB: moving in the range 36.49-36.54 this morning supportive level at 36.35 resistance level at 36.60
· SET Index: 1,370.8 (-0.57%), 21 May 2024
· S&P 500 Index: 5,321.4 (+0.25%), 21 May 2024
· Thai 10-year government bond yield (interpolated): 2.84 (+8.33 bps), 21 May 2024
· US 10-year treasury yield: 4.43 (+2.00 bps), 21 May 2024
- US home sales post second straight monthly drop; house prices accelerate
- Japan manufacturing activity unexpectedly picks up in May, services slows
- Japanese business confidence weighed down by weak yen, price pressures
- Dollar steadies, but on track for sharp weekly loss
US home sales post second straight monthly drop; house prices accelerate US existing home sales unexpectedly fell in April as higher mortgage rates and house prices weighed on demand, dealing another setback to the housing market. Though the report from the National Association of Realtors on Wednesday showed inventory increasing last month to a 2-1/2-year high entry-level homes remained scarce, accounting for the second straight monthly decline in sales. The housing market has taken a step back after residential investment, which includes homebuilding, grew at its fastest pace in more than three years in the first quarter amid a resurgence in mortgage rates. Home sales slipped 1.9% last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.14 million units. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast home resales would rise to a rate of 4.21 million units. Home resales are counted at the closing of a contract. April sales likely reflect contracts signed in the prior two months when the average rate on the popular 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was hovering just below 7%.
Japan manufacturing activity unexpectedly picks up in May, services slows Japan’s manufacturing sector unexpectedly rose back into expansion territory in May, boosting overall business activity and helping offset a mild decline in services growth. The au Jibun Bank Japan manufacturing PMI rose to 50.5 in May, according to a preliminary reading. The print was higher than expectations of 49.7 and improved from the 49.6 seen in the prior month. A reading above 50 indicates expansion, with the sector now growing for the first time since June 2023. The positive reading came amid improving employment and purchases in the sector, while output and new orders fell at slower paces. Growth in the services sector persisted, albeit at a slower pace. The au Jibun Bank Japan Services PMI rose 53.6 in May, compared to growth of 54.3 in the prior month, preliminary data showed.
Japanese business confidence weighed down by weak yen, price pressures Japanese business morale held steady in May, but manufacturers and service-sector firms complained that inflationary pressures driven by the weak yen were squeezing profit margins, a Reuters monthly survey showed. The latest poll came about a week after gross domestic product (GDP) data showed Japan's economy contracted 2% on an annualised basis in the first quarter. The main GDP components - private consumption, which makes up more than half the economy, capital expenditures and exports - weakened sharply due to soft demand at home and abroad, leaving Japan's economy with no driver of growth last quarter. The Reuters Tankan survey, designed to closely track the Bank of Japan (BOJ), found Japanese manufacturers' confidence at plus 9, unchanged from the previous month. It is expected to improve slightly over the coming three months.
Dollar steady ahead of Fed minutes, sterling gains on CPI release The 10-year government bond yield (interpolated) on the previous trading day was 2.84, +8.33 bps. The benchmark government bond yield (LB31DA) was 2.76, +9.00 bps. Meantime, the latest closed US 10-year bond yields was 4.43, +2.00 bps. USDTHB on the previous trading day closed around 36.27. Moving in a range of 36.49-36.54 this morning. USDTHB could be closed between 36.35-36.60 today. The US dollar traded calmly Wednesday ahead of the release of the minutes from the last Federal Reserve meeting, while sterling gained as inflation fell by less than expected in April. The dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six other currencies, traded marginally higher at 104.600. The dollar is struggling to move in any meaningful fashion as traders await the release of the minutes from the last Fed meeting, searching for more cues on the likely path of US interest rates towards the end of the year. Last week’s soft-than-expected consumer inflation data raised hopes of rate cuts in a reasonably short time.
Sources : ttb analytics , Bloomberg, CNBC, Trading economics, Investing, CEIC
