US jobless claims steady through early August
Aug 13, 2015 15:22 pm UTC| Commentary
Initial jobless claims rose 5k, to 274k, in the week ending August 8, a touch above our (270k) and consensus expectations (270k) for an unchanged reading. Despite the increase in claims for the latest week, the four-week...
Solid US retail sales brighten the picture for consumption
Aug 13, 2015 15:12 pm UTC| Commentary
Retail sales rose 0.6% m/m in July, in line with the consensus expectations. The increase was broad based, with solid readings on many core categories boosted by a gain in motor vehicle sales and gasoline stations. Motor...
US import prices decline in July
Aug 13, 2015 14:58 pm UTC| Commentary
The fall in US import prices accelerated modestly in July, after falling 0.1% in June. Total import prices were down 0.9% m/m, above both (-1.5%) and consensus expectations (-1.2%). Petroleum and petroleum product prices...

Prices for corn, wheat and soybeans significantly under pressure
Aug 13, 2015 12:34 pm UTC| Commentary
US Department of Agriculture (USDA) published its crop forecasts yesterday. The estimates for the corn and soybean crops in the US significantly exceeded the markets expectations. The production estimate for US soybeans...

Global gold demand falls to six-year low in Q2
Aug 13, 2015 09:29 am UTC| Commentary
The steady devaluation of the Chinese yuan that has been ongoing now for three days is continuing to lend support to the gold price, driving it up for a time this morning to a 3½-week high of just shy of $1,130 per...

IEA expects global oil market to remain oversupplied
Aug 13, 2015 09:22 am UTC| Commentary
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has upwardly revised its estimate of global oil demand and now expects it to grow by 1.6 million barrels per day in 2015 and by 1.4 million barrels per day in 2016. At the same time,...

Oil prices recover after reported inventory drop in US
Aug 13, 2015 09:07 am UTC| Commentary
Oil prices were able to recover from their initial lows yesterday and closed trading slightly up. They are continuing their recovery this morning, Brent climbing to $50 per barrel and WTI to $43.5 per barrel, notes...