Forex and Currency News

Bank of Russia leaves policy rate intact at 16%

The Bank of Russia (CBR) left its key policy rate without change at 16% for a third consecutive meeting in April, in line with market expectations. The central bank warned that interest rates would need to remain elevated for longer than previously anticipated to bring inflation under control. Upside risks to inflation persisted, as a […] Read more

Sweden’s trade surplus shrinks sizably in March

Sweden has reported a 54.7% drop in its trade balance surplus in March from a year earlier. The country’s trade surplus shrank to SEK 4.8 billion in March from SEK 10.6 billion in the same month of 2023, the latest data by Statistics Sweden showed. Total exports plunged 10.7% year-on-year to SEK 176.2 billion in […] Read more

Singapore’s manufacturing production shrinks the most since August 2023

Singapore’s manufacturing output shrank at an annual rate of 9.2% in March, following a revised up 4.4% growth in February, according to data by Singapore Economic Development Board. In comparison, market consensus had pointed to a considerably smaller decrease, by 1.5%. It has been the steepest year-on-year contraction since August 2023. In March, production substantially […] Read more

Norway’s retail sales surge for second month in March

Retail sales in Norway grew for a second straight month in March, the latest data by Statistics Norway showed. Sales rose 0.3% in March over February, following a revised up 0.2% increase in the prior month. Sales of other goods rose further in March (2.8% compared to 1.6% in February), while sales of food and […] Read more

France’s consumer sentiment weakens in April

Consumer sentiment in France was a bit weaker in April over the prior month, data by INSEE showed. The consumer confidence indicator for France came in at a reading of 89.65 in April, down from 91.02 in March and also below market consensus of 92. The latest figure remained below the long-term average of 100. […] Read more

Spain’s Q1 unemployment rate rises to one-year high

Spain’s rate of unemployment was reported to have risen to its highest level since Q1 2023 in the first quarter of 2024. The unemployment rate came in at 12.29%, up from 11.8% in Q4 of 2023 and exceeding market consensus of 11.8%. In the latest quarter, the number of unemployed persons rose by 117,000 over […] Read more

GBP/JPY scales 15 1/2-year peak as BoJ keeps rates intact

The GBP/JPY currency pair advanced to a fresh 15 1/2-year high of 195.965 on Friday, after the Bank of Japan maintained its short-term interest rate intact at around 0% to 0.1% at its April meeting, in line with market expectations. The central bank also stuck with its March guidance to continue purchasing government bonds around […] Read more

US GDP growth slows for second straight quarter in Q1

The US economy grew at an annualized rate of 1.6% in the first quarter of 2024, a preliminary estimate showed, compared with a 3.4% growth in the preceding three months. The latest figure came well short of market consensus of 2.5% and marked growth deceleration for the second straight quarter. It has also been the […] Read more

Germany’s business confidence highest since May 2023

Business sentiment in Germany has increased to its highest level since May 2023 in April, the latest data by the Ifo Institute showed. The Ifo Business Climate indicator was reported at 89.4 in April, while improving from 87.9 in the previous month. In comparison, a consensus of analyst estimates had pointed to a reading of […] Read more

Euro Area’s April factory activity weakest since December

Euro Area’s manufacturing sector activity continued to shrink in April, data by S&P Global showed. The HCOB Eurozone Manufacturing PMI dropped to 45.6 in April, a preliminary estimate showed, from 46.1 in March. April’s PMI reading has been the lowest since December 2023. In comparison, market consensus had pointed to an improvement to 46.5. Still, […] Read more