020 7898 0500The dollar enjoyed a good day yesterday following reports that the Trump administration is having a rethink on banning Chinese firms from buying stakes in US companies. The news was met with some relief, with global stock markets rising, and the hope is that this might be the end to sporadic decisions that have a potentially long-term effect on the global economy.
New figures from the US showed an improvement in the goods trade balance which was a big surprise. The balance, of -$64.85 billion in May, was the best reading for nine months, with a big jump in exports being the main factor. Durable goods orders fell by 0.6% month-over-month in May, but a 1% drop had been forecast, so it wasn’t quite as bad as analysts had expected.
Today we will see the final reading of the GDP growth rate for the first quarter of 2018, as well as initial jobless claims up to 23 June 2018. Further dollar strengthening is not out of the questioning but, as ever, it depends on what the economic data readings show.
