While the pound remains largely unchanged against its major rivals, all eyes are on the euro-to-US dollar rate, which met fresh demand this morning, gaining close to 0.4%. The focus for the pairing remains on key US data.
New orders for manufactured goods in the US surged by 2.6% in March, slightly exceeding expectations of a 2.5% increase and following a downwardly revised growth of 0.7% in February. March recorded the largest monthly advance in durable goods orders since last November which was largely fuelled by robust demand for aircraft and other transport equipment, which made up for 7.7% of total orders.
Key US stocks the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were in the green on Wednesday, adding 0.2% and 0.6% respectively, with the latter boosted by tech stocks including Tesla.
The Confederation of British Industry documented that UK factory orders declined to -23 in April 2024, down from March’s six-month high of -18 and below expectations of -16. Despite this, UK manufacturers expect output to increase over the coming months.
On a more positive note, business sentiment in the UK manufacturing sector rose to 9 in the three months to April, and industry output reached a six-month high.
This morning, investors heard German consumer morale rose to -24.2 heading into May – the highest reading in two years – from -27.4 in April and above market forecasts of -25.9.
In the news, the US is threatening to ban video-hosting platform TikTok as lawmakers are concerned that the Chinese state could access the data belonging to 170 million users in the US under national security laws. President Biden is set to sign into law a bill that requires the current owner to sell the app’s US operations or face a ban.
British bank, Lloyds reported a 28% drop in its first quarter profits as strong competition in the mortgage markets hit home.
It’s relatively quiet on the data front this afternoon, with the only high-impact release being the US GDP growth rate figures for the first quarter of 2024. Markets forecast the economy expanded at a rate of 2.5% in the three months to April.
Make sure any upcoming transactions are protected against the risks of sudden market movements. Secure a fixed exchange rate now with a forward contract; call your account manager on 020 7898 0541 to get started.
