- BOE’s Sentance: Need to start process of moving interest rates up from extremely low level – Reading Post
- UK June jobless claims -20,800 vs median forecast -20,000. Claimant rate 4.5%, as expected, lowest rate since March 2009. ILO unemployment 3 months to May 7.8%, better than median forecast of 7.9%
- PIMCO turns bullish about UK gilts – Guardian
- Euro zone May industrial production +0.9% m/m, +9.4% y/y, weaker than median forecasts of +1.2%, +11.2% respectively
- Portugal feels austerity’s bite – WSJ
- Spain’s Zapatero: Unemployment is still top worry of government
- Euro zone June inflatiion flat m/m, +1.4% y/y, as expected
JPY has had a pretty good morning, USD/JPY down at 88.60 from early 88.95, EUR/JPY down at 112.55 from around 113.15.
One thing supporting the yen at the present time is the Mizuho share offering. Payment due July 21. Feeling is that height of yen buying by overseas players could well occur tomorrow or Friday. The overseas allotment is worth about $4.3 bln.
The BIS came in buying around the session low 88.53.
EUR/USD at 1.2700 very marginally easier, but has been confined to narrow range. Major Swiss commercial bank seen good buyer on brief dip below 1.2700,
BIS has turned up as a seller uo around 1.2720. Some speculation SNB could be tempted to ofload some of their vaste hoard of euros (after aggresively supporting EUR/CHF) and BIS action is giving some credence to these musings.
Cable up slightly at 1.5245 from early 1.5220, but some way from session high 1.5291. Factors giving support to sterling; Andrew Sentance banging on about need for higher Uk interest rates, slightly better than expected jobs report, recent reports Abu Dhabi interested in investing in BP and reports PIMCO has turned buillish on Uk gilts.
