020 7898 0500The US posted some better-than-expected figures on Friday in the form of durable goods. The figure was expected to come in at 1.5%, but it came in much stronger at 3.1%. It is the biggest increase in new orders since June 2017 but did little to the dollar which weakened against sterling and the euro.
New home sales were slightly disappointing as they shrank by 0.6% month-over-month to 618,000. This is the lowest reading for four months and is some way below the 4.4% increase that had been expected.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration imposed tariffs on $60 billion worth of products from China. The two largest economies in the world are now rearing their heads which is not good news for anyone really. It remains to be seen how China will retaliate, but the likelihood is that they will not ‘poke the bear’ too much and might let it slide more than initially thought. It is being suggested that they are mindful that Trump could go even further, so perhaps caution is the best approach with him at the helm.
It’s a quiet start to the week, but on Wednesday we will see the final reading of the GDP growth rate for the fourth quarter of 2017, while Thursday sees the final University of Michigan consumer sentiment reading.
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