FINANCIAL MARKET REVIEW FOR MARCH 16 2018 AFGHANISTAN

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Financial Market Review for March 16 2018 It was a quiet day on the economic calendar this morning, with material stats released through the Asian session being limited to New Zealand’s February Business PMI figures and January’s finalized industrial production figures out of Japan. For the Kiwi Dollar, there was more strife following the 4th quarter GDP numbers released on Thursday, with the Business PMI slipping from 55.6 to 53.4 in February, which reflected the 2nd slowest pace of expansion in the last 13-months. According to the latest survey, a fall in new orders was a common theme among respondents, the subindex falling from 55.4 to 54.1, with the production sub-index showing activity grow at a marginally slower pace, while the employment sub-index jumped from 52.8 to 54.8, suggesting that there is optimism amongst manufacturers in spite of the dip in new orders. The Kiwi Dollar moved from $0.72787 to $0.78780 upon release of the figures, before falling further to $0.7246, down 0.44% for the day. With the RBNZ interest rate decision next week, the weak contribution from the manufacturing sector in the 4th quarter looks set to continue through the 1st quarter, which will be another reason for the RBNZ to sit back. For the Japanese Yen, industrial production figures had little influence on the Yen, which was up 0.42% to ¥105.89 against the Dollar, as the markets begin to project the Yen crossing ¥100 against the Dollar. It may not take too long, particularly with uncertainty over trade lingering over the global economy and the talk of other key members of the U.S administration heading for the door. January’s industrial production fell by 6.8%, which was softer than the prelim 6.6% fall, with the Yen moving from ¥105.899 to ¥105.863 against the Dollar upon release. Elsewhere, the Aussie Dollar was down 0.03% to $0.7796, with some better stats out of the U.S providing some support for the U.S Dollar through the session. In the equity markets, the Nikkei was down 0.45%, pressured by the bounce in the Yen, with the Hang Seng and CSI300 also in the red at the time of writing, while the ASX200 managed to buck the trend, following Thursday’s slide, ending the day with a 0.48% gain. After what’s been a relatively quiet week on the data front, economic data out of the Eurozone this morning includes finalized inflation figures out of Italy and for the Eurozone, together with the Eurozone’s 4th quarter wage growth numbers. While we will expect wage growth to influence, the pace of wage growth considered a precursor to inflation, the Eurozone’s inflation figures will be the area of focus. The EUR had softened on Wednesday, in response to Draghi’s dovish commentary, so any hints of a pickup in inflation and the EUR would certainly benefit, though the annual rate of core inflation would need to be revised upwards. At the time of writing, the EUR was up 0.06% to $1.2322. For the Pound, it’s another day with no material stats for the markets to consider ahead of next week’s BoE monetary policy decision.

Tel. (+357) 250-288-6163 general@vinsonfinancials.com www.vinsonfinancials.com


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