FINWIRES · TerminalLIVE
FINWIRES

US Dollar Rises Early Friday Ahead of Empire Manufacturing, Industrial Production

By

The US dollar rose against its major trading partners early Friday ahead of the New York Federal Reserve's Empire State manufacturing reading for May at 8:30 am ET and industrial production data for April at 9:15 am ET.

The St. Louis Fed is expected to update its GDP nowcast estimate for Q1 around midday.

A quick summary of foreign exchange activity heading into Friday:

EUR/USD fell to 1.1646 from 1.1671 at the Thursday US close and 1.1707 at the same time Thursday morning. Eurozone reserve assets declined in April, according to data released earlier Friday. The next European Central Bank meeting is scheduled for June 11.

GBP/USD fell to 1.3379 from 1.3399 at the Thursday US close and 1.3515 at the same time Thursday morning. There are no UK data on Friday's schedule. The next Bank of England meeting is scheduled for June 18.

USD/JPY rose to 158.4510 from 158.3673 at the Thursday US close and 157.9382 at the same time Thursday morning. Japanese producer prices and machine tool orders surged in April while Japanese consumer sentiment ticked up in May, according to data released overnight. The next Bank of Japan meeting is scheduled for June 15-16.

USD/CAD rose to 1.3743 from 1.3724 at the Thursday US close and 1.3718 at the same time Thursday morning. Canadian housing starts data for April are due to be released at 8:15 am ET, followed by Canadian foreign securities purchases and manufacturing sales, all for March, are scheduled to be released at 8:30 am ET. The next Bank of Canada meeting is scheduled for June 10.

Related Articles

International

Sell Off Looms on Wall Street Pre-Bell; Asia, Europe Off

Wall Street futures pointed lower pre-bell Friday as rising oil prices and interest rates tempered optimism, and as Tehran-Washington hostilities mounted over the still-closed Strait of Hormuz.In the futures, the S&P 500 fell 0.5%, the Nasdaq declined 1.4% and the Dow Jones was off 0.5%.The VanEck Semiconductor Exchange-Traded Fund (SMH) traded down 2.3% pre-bell, as chip shares lost favor.In contrast, West Texas Intermediate crude oil traded higher at $107.99 a barrel, up 2.1%.Yields on 10-year US Treasuries topped 4.5%, the highest since early 2024.Asian exchanges traded lower overnight, led by a 6% tumble on Seoul's KOSPI index, as tech shares retreated.European bourses tracked solidly south midday on the continent.On the economic calendar is the Empire State Manufacturing Index for May at 8:30 am ET, along with the national industrial production report for April.The Baker Hughes domestic oil-and-gas rig count logs at 1 pm.In pre-market action, Bitcoin traded at $80,664, and spot gold commanded $4,568 an ounce.

$^DJI$^IXIC$^SPX
International

Tech Sell-Off Batters Asian Stock Markets

Asian stock markets retreated Friday as traders weighed geopolitical concerns, inflation, labor issues, and booked profits in regional equity indices that recently struck record highsHong Kong, Shanghai, and Tokyo finished in the red, while Seoul's KOSPI index declined 6%, including an 8.6% tumble in bellwether Samsung Electronics shares after reports of a possible work stoppage at the semiconductor giant.The Samsung Electronics labor union plans an 18-day strike, involving 50,000 employees, from May 21 to June 7, reported The Chosun Daily news organization.In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened evenly on Wall Street cues but declined in trading, finishing off 2% after Tokyo reported that producer prices had jumped higher in April.The benchmark Nikkei 225 eased 1,244.76 to 61,409.29, as losing issues outnumbered gainers 120 to 99.Leading the upside was industrial engineering and metal melting enterprise Dowa, up 16.1%, while printing outfit Toppan declined 16.6%.In economic news, Japan's producer price index rose 4.9% year-on-year in April, rising from the 2.9% gain logged in March and triggering concerns that the Bank of Japan will soon raise interest rates.In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index opened lower and declined steadily, closing down 1.6% after the recent Beijing-Washington summit concluded without any major trade agreements announced. Tech issues led the decline.The broad gauge Hang Seng fell 426.31 to 25,962.73, as losing issues outnumbered losers 76 to 13. The Hang Seng TECH Index lost 2.7% on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index fell 1.2%.Leading the upside was Wuxi Biologics, gaining 3.2%, while JD Health International declined 6.6%.On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite fell 1% to 4,135.39.On the other regional exchanges, the Taiwan TWSE declined 1.4%; the Australian ASX 200 declined 0.1%; the Singapore Straits Times Index fell 0.1%, and the Thai Set declined 1.4%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was down 0.2%The MSCI All Country Asia Pacific Index fell 2.1% on the day.

$^HSI$^N225$^SSEC
International

Italian Annual Inflation Rate Climbs to 2.7% in April, Final Data Shows

Italy's annual inflation rate increased to 2.7% in April from 1.7% in March, final data from statistics agency Istat showed Friday.The flash estimate for the month was 2.8%.On a monthly basis, consumer prices were up 1.1%, against the flash figure of a 1.2% increase and the prior 0.5% rise.The Italian harmonized inflation rate stood at 2.8% on an annual basis, compared with the preliminary reading of 2.9% and the previous 1.6%. Month over month, harmonized consumer prices were 1.6% higher, against the initial estimate and prior 1.7% gain.

$^SXXP