020 7898 0500The meeting between Trump and Juncker was always likely to steal the headlines, but it appears to have gone well. The two sides have agreed to work together towards zero tariffs and, although details are a little sketchy at the moment, it is a step in the right direction. Europe is unlikely to accept everything the US proposes while the steel and aluminium tariffs continue to exist, but it does feel as if a crisis has been averted. For now.
The main release of note yesterday was new home sales in June. They declined by 5.3% from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 631,000 which is the lowest rate since October. The figure was worse than market expectations of 670,000.
Initial jobless claims to 21 July 2018 will be released today and are expected to jump to 215,000 from 207,000 the week before. The last reading was the lowest since December 1969 so an increase is jobless claims is nothing to be too concerned with. We will also see durable goods orders in June.
