UK construction growth slows down

Construction growth slowed down in April as indicated in the PMI report. The construction PMI was at a level of 54.2, down from 57.8 in March. This is the weakest rise in 22 months, since June 2013.

Other key points include:
- Robust pace of new job creation, despite slower rise in new orders.
- Sharpest increase in sub-contractor prices since 1997.

Spanish unemployment reduced

Spanish unemployment numbers show a drop of 118.9 thousand, nearly double of that in the previous period.

However, this figure could be dodgy considering regional elections is coming soon.

The full report can be found here albeit in Spanish.

Cash rate remained at 2.0%, and another generic RBA statement

The cash rate in Australia remained at 2.0%. In terms of the Reserve Bank of Australia`s statement, it was a generic one. The statement can be found here.

Australian trade balance deficit drops to 1.32 b

March recorded a deficit of $ 1 322 million, a decrease of $ 287 million from February.

China`s manufacturing PMI declined again

The HSBC manufacturing PMI recorded a level of 48.9 in April, down from 49.2 in March. This is the unofficial PMI figure and any level below 50.0 indicates a contraction in the industry.

Australian building approvals up

Building approvals increased at a rate of 2.8% compared to the prior period`s contraction of 1.6%.

Australian PPI grew by 0.5%

The March key figure showed a growth of 0.5% in terms of the price change of finished goods.

Usually, after a solid Chinese data as seen in my earlier post, Australia would show positive figures.

The full report can be found here.

ISM manufacturing PMI holds

The ISM manufacturing PMI remained unchanged at 51.5. Do take note that this is not the official figure and does not have a major impact on dollar pairs.

UK manufacturing growth drops

Manufacturing growth in the UK slowed down to 51.9 in April compared to 54.0 in March. The other key points include consumer goods sector remains a standout performer and price pressures remain on the downside. 

China`s manufacturing PMI in April slightly higher than estimates

China`s manufacturing PMI in April beat estimates by the tiniest bit, with the actual figure indicating a growth of 50.1 vs 50.0. Still CNBC mentioned that this is a sign that the economy is struggling to gain momentum.