Daily Market Report – 19/08/2014 USD:The Dollar’s recent gains slowed on Monday despite a survey revealing a surge in US home builder confidence. A monthly index from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) measuring confidence among single-family home builders rose 2 points to 55; analysts had expected the index to hold unchanged at its July level, after steep drops in new home sales and housing starts from June to July. The NAHB chairman believes improvements in the employment situation is causing USD:The Dollar’s recent gains slowed on Monday despite a survey revealing a surge in US home builder confidence. A monthly index from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) measuring confidence among single-family home builders rose 2 points to 55; analysts had expected the index to hold unchanged at its July level, after steep drops in new home sales and housing starts from June to July. The NAHB chairman believes improvements in the employment situation is causing s noticeable increase in the number of serious buyers entering the market, however builders still face a number of challenges, including tight credit conditions for borrowers and shortages of finished lots. EUR:Dominating the Euro-zone headlines were warnings from Germany’s Bundesbank regarding global tensions such as the Ukraine crisis and its potential impact for Europe’s largest economy, putting earlier assumptions about the strength of the country’s growth at risk. The comments came days after Germany’s statistics office reported in a preliminary estimate that the country’s economy contracted by 0.2% in the second quarter of this year versus the first quarter. The surprisingly strong decline has cemented concerns that global turmoil, notably the crisis in Ukraine and conflict in the Middle East, has jeopardized Germany’s growth prospects this year as well as the rest of Europe’s. Key Announcements: 09:30 BST – GBP – CPI – YoY – expected to fall by 0.1% from 1.9% 09:30 BST – GBP- PPI Input MoM – expected to stay the same at -0.8% 09:30 BST – GBP – RPI YoY – expected to stay the same at 2.6% 13:30 BST – USD – Building Permits – expected to come in at 1M from 0.97M 13:30 BST – USD – CPI MoM – expected to fall to 0.1% from 0.3% 13:30 BST – USD – Core CPI – expected to rise to 0.2% from 0.1% 13:30 BST – USD – Housing Starts – expected to come in at 0.97M from 0.89M Our dealers are available via e-mail ([email protected]) or by phone (020 7220 8181).