Forex News for 7th March, 2023
March 7, 2023
- Canada’s IVEY PMI decreased to 51.6 in February from 60.1 in the previous month due to slower job creation.
- U.S. factory orders declined by 1.6% in January, led by lower civilian aircraft bookings, after a 1.7% increase in December.
- Japan’s real wages dropped by 4.1% YoY in January, marking the 10th consecutive monthly decline and the fastest decrease since May 2014.
- UK retail spending increased by 4.9% YoY in February, boosted by Valentine’s Day spending, but the volume of goods sold decreased, resulting in shoppers getting less for their money.
- Australia’s retail sales rebounded by 1.9% in January after a 4.0% decline in February due to inflation and the return of large-scale sporting and cultural events that boosted catering services.
- Australia posted an 11.69B AUD trade surplus in January, the smallest surplus since August, as exports rose less than imports.
- RBA raised its rates by an expected 25bps to 3.6%, with the statement hinting of one more rate hike before turning data-dependent.
- China’s trade surplus beat expectations at $116.9B in the January-February period, but exports and imports contracted deeper than market estimated, causing Asian stocks to slip.
- China’s new Foreign Minister Qin Gang warned of “catastrophic consequences” if the U.S. does not “hit the brakes” on current relations strategies.
- Switzerland’s jobless rate dipped to 2.1% in February from 2.2% in the previous month.