The US dollar continued to strengthen its position against a number of world currencies after the outcome of the failed EU summit on economic issues, as well as against the background of good fundamental statistics on the American economy.
Yesterday afternoon, a report on the US labor market was published, as well as representatives of the Federal Reserve System, who once again spoke of the need to further increase interest rates, which had a positive effect on investor sentiment.
According to the US Department of Labor, the number of Americans who submitted new applications for unemployment benefits last week has declined. Despite this, the shortage of skilled workers is still quite high.
Thus, the number of initial claims for unemployment benefits for the week from October 7 to 13 decreased by 5,000 and amounted to 210,000, while economists also expected that the number of applications would be 210,000.
The speech of the President of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, James Bullard, led to an increase in the US dollar. Bullard said that the strong economic dynamics justifies the increase in interest rates, which he opposed for a long time.
Despite this, the situation in the economy may change at any time, and these changes will be negative. Even if the economy exceeds economists' forecasts, the Fed should report to the markets about future rate hikes.
The speech of the Vice Chairman of the Fed Quarles also benefited the US dollar, as he confirmed the current rate of the Fed to a gradual policy change due to the fact that the economy is still in good condition.
Quarles drew attention to the fact that it is very difficult to say whether it will be possible to maintain strong economic growth. However, in his opinion, there is some potential for increasing the share of the economically active population.
As for the recession, then, in the opinion of the Fed representative, there is little evidence of risks, and the criticism of US President Donald Trump with respect to the Fed will not prevent him from doing his job.
China
Today, there was data on the economy of China, whose growth has slowed to the level of the beginning of the financial crisis.
According to the report of the National Bureau of Statistics, China's GDP in the 3rd quarter of this year grew by 6.5% compared with the same period last year, against a growth of 6.7% in the 2nd quarter. Economists had expected a 6.6% increase in GDP in the 3rd quarter. Despite the slowdown, the target levels set by the authorities in the region of 6.5% have been achieved.
The slowdown in industrial production will have a negative impact on economic growth in the future, despite the fact that growth in investment and retail sales has stabilized.
According to the Bureau of Statistics, in September of this year, compared with the same period last year, industrial production grew by 5.8% after rising by 6.1% in August. Economists had expected annual industrial growth to be 6.0%.
Investments for the period from January to September rose by 5.4%, which turned out to be higher than the forecasts of economists, who expected growth of 5.3%. Retail sales in September rose 9.2% after rising 9.0% in August. Economists had forecast growth of 9.1%.
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company - www.instaforex.com