US leading economic index(r) fell modestly in July

Aug 20, 2015 14:31 pm UTC| Commentary

The Conference Boards leading economic index fell 0.2% m/m in July, just a touch below the revised forecast (‑0.1%) and below consensus expectations (0.2%). The soft July reading was driven by a sharp decline in building...

Brazil Unemployment rate-Increased pace of deterioration

Aug 20, 2015 14:26 pm UTC| Commentary

The July unemployment rate was at 7.5%, 2.6bp higher than a year ago, a surprisingly strong pace of deterioration of labor market conditions in Brazil. In seasonally adjusted terms, the unemployment rate jumped to 7.2%,...

U.S. existing home sales probably held steady in July

Aug 20, 2015 12:37 pm UTC| Commentary

U.S. existing home sales data posted 3.2% growth in June is likely to remain stable in July. Apparently at odds with the reported falloff in dwellings going to contract in June, the preliminary canvass of state and local...

Moderate deceleration in U.K. retail sales growth continues

Aug 20, 2015 12:22 pm UTC| Commentary

U.K. retail sales growth (in volume terms) registered a modest pickup in July, rebounding by 0.1% m/m. Further, June numbers were marginally revised upward by 0.1pp over the month and 0.2pp over the year, now coming in at...

WTI displeased with stockpiling, hits 6-1/2-year low

Aug 20, 2015 10:41 am UTC| Commentary

Prices of the US crude benchmark continued to trade with losses on Thursday, after slumping to just above the $41 level on Wednesday on the back of an unexpected build in US stockpiles. October futures for WTI were...

China's cotton crop expected to fall by 1M tons this year

Aug 20, 2015 10:29 am UTC| Commentary

The cotton price briefly shed somewhat more than 1% yesterday but was soon able to recoup this loss and ultimately closed largely unchanged at 66.5 US cents per pound. Despite weak Chinese demand, the cotton price has...

Gold price rises strongly on dovish Fed minutes

Aug 20, 2015 10:17 am UTC| Commentary

Gold has climbed this morning to a five-week high of a good $1,140 per troy ounce after having already gained by 1.4% yesterday. The price rally was sparked by dovish perceived minutes of the latest Fed meeting at the end...