Swedish jobless rate drops in March, employment rises strongly in Q1

Apr 25, 2017 17:30 pm UTC| Commentary

Employment in Sweden rose strongly in the first quarter of 2017. It rose 1 percent sequentially, coming in above the Riksbanks projection. The seasonally adjusted jobless rate dropped to 6.4 percent in March, much below...

USD/INR likely to trade around 68 by end-2017, says Scotiabank

Apr 25, 2017 17:29 pm UTC| Commentary

The Indian rupee is underpinned by rebounding investor confidence toward India and consequent inflows of portfolio investment that show a prudent Union Budget for fiscal year 2017-2018, a neutral monetary policy stance...

Central Bank of Russia likely to cut key rate by 25 bps in April, may cut rate to 8.5 pct by end-2017

Apr 25, 2017 17:28 pm UTC| Commentary

The Russian central bank, the Bank of Russia, is set to meet on Friday for its monetary policy decision. The central bank is expected to lower the key interest rate by 25 basis points to 9.50 percent during its meeting,...

U.S. home prices rise strongly in February, likely to continue rising at steady pace this year

Apr 25, 2017 16:19 pm UTC| Commentary

The SP CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Index for U.S. was up in February. The index was up 0.7 percent on a sequential basis, consistent with consensus projections. This is the fourth straight month of solid home price...

U.S. new home sales rise above expectations in March, housing market to gain further in 2017

Apr 25, 2017 16:04 pm UTC| Commentary

U.S. new home sales came in stronger than expectations in the month of March. Sales rose 5.8 percent on a sequential basis to 621,000. This is more than consensus expectations of 584,000. The figure for February was...

U.S. consumer confidence index falls more than expected in April, remains near 12-year high

Apr 25, 2017 15:38 pm UTC| Commentary

The U.S. Conference Boards consumer confidence index dropped by more than anticipated in April. It fell from Marchs 124.9 to 120.3, but it continues to stay near a 12-year high. Consensus expectations were for a more...

Commodities snapshot (precious & industrial)

Apr 25, 2017 13:58 pm UTC| Commentary

The metal pack is mixed today. Performance this week at a glance in chart table - Gold: Gold is grinding lower as the French election outcome triggers risk-on rallies. Todays range $1265-1278 We expect the gold...