Daily Market News 22 July 2011

Yesterday’s Market Movers

From Europe yesterday we had PMI manufacturing and services figures, they all came in worse than expected which made the Euro dip slightly showing that the economy is slowing. The Euro traded weaker against its major counterparts in early morning trade it Euro traded as low as 1.1410 against the pound.

From Europe yesterday we had PMI manufacturing and services figures, they all came in worse than expected which made the Euro dip slightly showing that the economy is slowing. The Euro traded weaker against its major counterparts in early morning trade it Euro traded as low as 1.1410 against the pound.

The biggest movements in the markets yesterday came in the form of a surge of Euro strength as a detailed bailout package for Greece and other EU nations was finally agreed. This sees extended repayment terms and decreased interest rates in order to try and ensure that these economies get back on their feet!

From the UK we had retail sales and public sector net borrowing figures. Retail sales was much better than expected at 0.4% from an expected -0.1% which gave a boost for the pound against the US Dollar to a one month high. The figures suggest that the economy has picked up in the last month but information suggests that people are still not spending as much and there is still a struggle as it aims to erase the budget deficit.

From the US we had initial jobless claims which came in higher at 418k from an expected 405k; this was a bad figure for the US. The US Dollar weakened from the back of this information taking it to a one month low of 1.6323 against the pound and a two month low against the Euro trading at 1.4401.

From Europe we have the IFO business climate, expectations and current assessment figures. They are all expected worse than previous. The survey will assess Germany’s business situation in short term planning. This may not have much effect as the Euro is trading stronger due to more discussions regarding the debt crisis from both French and German governments. Both Governments are going to hold more meetings in the near future with the European Central bank governor Jean-Claude Trichet.