- USDTHB: moving in the range 34.20-34.29 this morning, supportive level at 34.20 resistance level at 34.35
· SET Index: 1,591.9 (-0.11%), 24 March 2023
· S&P 500 Index: 3,971.0 (+0.56%), 24 March 2023
· Thai 10-year government bond yield (interpolated): 2.31 (-2.04 bps), 24 March 2023
· US 10-year treasury yield: 3.38 (+0.00 bps), 24 March 2023
- US labor market still tight; housing market close to bottoming out
- UK consumer mood hits one-year high, but financial gloom persists
- Japan CPI inflation dips from over 40-year highs in Feb
- Dollar pares losses after central banks raise rates
US business investment appears weak in first quarter as orders rise moderately New orders for key U.S.-manufactured capital goods unexpectedly rose in February, but data for the prior month was revised sharply down, suggesting that business spending on equipment could be struggling to rebound in the first quarter. While a survey from S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) on Friday showed business activity gaining steam in March, manufacturing contracted for a fifth straight month. The reports likely confirm that manufacturing is in recession, weighed down by higher borrowing costs. With financial conditions tightening following the recent failure of two regional banks, the outlook for both business investment and manufacturing is cloudy. Orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending plans, increased 0.2% last month, the Commerce Department said. Data for January was revised lower to show these so-called core capital goods orders rising 0.3% instead of 0.8% as previously reported.
Euro zone services firms enjoy buoyant March but factories struggle Business activity across the euro zone unexpectedly accelerated this month as consumers splashed out on services, but weakening demand for manufactured goods deepened the downturn in the factory sector, surveys showed. Friday’s data add to evidence the bloc will dodge a recession and indicates the 20-nation region’s economy is resilient in the near term at least, potentially giving the European Central Bank room to continue tightening policy. The ECB will fulfil its 2% inflation mandate and monetary policy must be stubbornly tight to get the job done, Germany’s Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel said on Friday. But sentiment remains frail as turmoil in the U.S. and European banking sectors in the past two weeks have revived memories of the 2008 global financial crisis.
Japan's consumer inflation off 41-year high but cost pressure persists Japan's core consumer inflation slowed in February but an index stripping away energy costs hit a four-decade high, data showed on Friday, suggesting cost-push pressures may persist longer than policymakers thought. With inflation still exceeding the Bank of Japan's 2% target, the data will keep alive market expectations of a tweak to its bond yield control policy under incoming governor Kazuo Ueda, analysts say. The core consumer price index (CPI), which excludes volatile fresh food but includes oil products, rose 3.1% in February from a year earlier, matching a median market forecast and slowing sharply from a 41-year high of 4.2% seen in January. The slowdown was mostly due to the effect of government subsidies to curb utility bills. Prices of non-energy items like food and daily necessities continued to rise, a sign the pass-through of rising raw material costs have yet to run its course.
Dollar outshines euro, sterling amid European bank jitters The 10-year government bond yield (interpolated) on the previous trading day was 2.31, -2.04 bps. The benchmark government bond yield (LB31DA) was 2.32, -1.00 bps. LB31DA could be between 2.00-2.50 Meantime, the latest closed US 10-year bond yields was 3.38, +0.00 bps. USDTHB on the previous trading day closed around 34.12 Moving in a range of 34.03-34.10 this morning. USDTHB could be closed between 34.00-34.50 today. The euro and sterling fell sharply against a strengthening dollar on Friday amid lingering nervousness over banks. Banking stocks plunged in Europe with heavyweights Deutsche Bank and UBS Group plummeted by worries that the worst problems to hit the sector since the 2008 financial crisis have not yet been contained. Risk aversion also sent sterling 0.53% lower to $1.222, despite data showing the British economy was set to grow in the first quarter and confidence was growing. The pound touched a seven-week high of $1.2341 on Thursday in volatile trading after the Bank of England raised interest rates by 25 bps to 4.25% but said a surprise resurgence in inflation would probably fade fast, stoking speculation it had ended its run of hikes.
Sources : ttb analytics , Bloomberg, CNBC, Trading economics, Investing, CEIC
