- USDTHB: moving in the range 33.11-33.16 this morning supportive level at 33.00 resistance level at 33.25
- SET Index: 1,489.82 (-0.35%), 18 Oct 2024
- S&P 500 Index: 5,864.67 (+0.40%), 18 Oct 2024
- Thai 10-year government bond yield (interpolated): 2.416 (-0.90 bps), 18 Oct 2024
- US 10-year treasury yield: 4.08 (-1.00 bps), 18 Oct 2024
- US housing starts ease on decline in multifamily construction
- Japan's core inflation has slowed thanks to fuel subsidies, but demand pressures persist
- China's Q3 GDP slows to its weakest since early 2023, heightening calls for stimulus
- Dollar steadies after recent increases; pound rises due to strong retail sales
US housing starts ease on decline in multifamily construction
US housing starts dipped in September as a decline in multifamily projects offset a rise in single-family homes. Overall starts fell 0.5% to an annualized rate of 1.35 million, consistent with forecasts. Single-family starts rose 2.7% to 1.03 million, the highest in five months, while multifamily construction dropped 9.4% to a four-month low. Building permits decreased 2.9% to 1.43 million, but single-family permits increased 0.3% to 970,000. Despite the rise in single-family starts, economists expect residential investment to continue dragging on third-quarter economic growth.
Japan's core inflation has slowed thanks to fuel subsidies, but demand pressures persist
In September, Japan's main inflation measure slowed for the first time in five months, with consumer prices (excluding fresh food) rising 2.4% year-over-year, down from 2.8% in August. This figure slightly exceeded the 2.3% consensus estimate. The slowdown is largely attributed to these subsidies and is expected to have limited impact on the Bank of Japan's policy, barring other signs of weakening. The index excluding energy and fresh food increased to 2.1% from 2.0% the previous month. Overall inflation also fell to 2.5% from 3.0% in August, driven by lower electricity and gas prices, with subsidies reducing the rate by 0.55 percentage points.
China's Q3 GDP slows to its weakest since early 2023, heightening calls for stimulus
In the third quarter, China's economy grew at its slowest rate since early 2023, with a 4.6% increase from July to September. While consumption and factory output exceeded forecasts last month, the struggling property sector remains a significant hurdle for Beijing in its efforts to boost growth. This growth rate was slightly above the 4.5% forecast but below the 4.7% seen in the second quarter. Additionally, officials at a post-data press conference expressed confidence that the economy can still meet the government's annual growth target of around 5%, supported by further policy measures and a reduction in banks' reserve requirements.
Dollar steadies after recent increases; pound rises due to strong retail sales
The 10-year government bond yield (interpolated) on the previous trading day was 2.416, -0.90 bps. The benchmark government bond yield (LB346A) was 2.40, -1.0 bps. Meantime, the latest closed US 10-year bond yields was 4.08, -1.00 bps. USDTHB on the previous trading day closed around 33.13 moving in a range of 33.11 – 33.16 this morning. USDTHB could be closed between 33.00 – 33.25 today. On Friday, the dollar index's weekly gains were tempered as strong data from the pound and yen offset potential upward movement for the dollar. U.S. news was subdued, with a larger-than-anticipated decline in Building Permits not significantly affecting the greenback. The British pound is set to finish the week flat, recovering from losses due to earlier UK CPI figures, as UK retail sales unexpectedly rose 0.3% in September. Meanwhile, EUR/USD broke its seven-day losing streak, moving out of oversold territory as it approached the 200-day moving average (1.0871). The Japanese yen performed best after a higher-than-expected year-on-year CPI of 2.4%. USD/JPY fell below the 150 mark, hovering just above the lows of 149.37 ahead of a light week in Japan.
Sources : ttb analytics , Bloomberg, CNBC, Trading economics, Investing, CEIC
