Daily Insight

The main theme in the market yesterday was predominantly dollar strength as U.S. Jobless Claims fell 11,000 in the last week, the first decline in four weeks, which suggests that job growth will keep fuelling consumer spending in the States. Also, the dollar was given a major boost when sales of existing homes in the States unexpectedly rose in February for the first time since August and as a result the dollar advanced as resales in February rose 5.2% to an annual rate of $6.91 Million against the predicted $6.5 Million.

There is also some significant data out in the U.S. this afternoon with Durable Goods Orders at 13:30 with forecasters anticipating a slight rise in February of 1%. In addition, we will we watching closely as Sales of New Homes is published at 15:00 in the States and if the data mirrors the unexpected rise in existing homes sales, we can expect the Dollar to make further gains this afternoon.

The Euro was buoyed yesterday with positive economic data coming out of Germany with Import Prices accelerating faster than expected in February, due primarily to rising energy costs. Without any significant data released in the UK or the Euro-zone today, we expect the dollar to take centre stage this afternoon.

Data Released 24th March

U.S. 13:30 Durable Goods Orders (Feb)

U.S. 13:30 New Homes Sales (Feb)

Written by Adam Solomon