US New home sales plummet
Whilst US home builders have slashed average house prices by record amounts we still saw new home sales plunge by 8.5% in the month of March to 17 year lows, according to the Commerce Department who released their estimation yesterday. New home sales are down 36.6% compared with a year ago!
However it wasn't all doom and gloom for the US with jobless claims falling from 375,000 to 342,000; this being the lowest level for 2 months and coming in better than the predicted 375,000.
Dollar weakness was tempered somewhat by chinks developing in the Eurozone armour. The Euro fell to a one-week low against the dollar on Thursday after a survey showed German corporate sentiment deteriorated by more than expected in April.
The German IFO business climate fell from 104.80 in March to 102.40 this month, which was significantly lower than the market expectation of 104.0pts. This is the weakest level since January 2006 and could well be the turning point of the single currency's uptrend.
On the UK side retail sales came in down 0.4% for March but were revised up to 4.6% for the year. The British Retail Consortium demonstrated concern that this figure was misleading given that the retail sector are making sounds that they are struggling.
Sterling failed to lift itself out of it's current trough against the Euro as poor sentiment on Britain's economy convinced investors the Bank of England is set to cut interest rates further.
This week it remained just above a record low against the Euro as the housing market weakened and consumer spending softened, although we have seen some fight back this morning. There's hope yet for the British holiday maker in Europe!
Oil prices retreated yesterday but the strike at Grangemouth refinery is still expected to go ahead on Sunday and has triggered panic buying in the north of England. Meanwhile Gold dipped to a three week low of $898.20 a troy ounce from 905.50 on Wednesday.
The contents of this blog are for information purposes only. It is not intended as a recommendation to trade or a solicitation for funds. The Wise Money Blog cannot be held responsible for any loss or damages arising from any action taken following consideration of this information.
However it wasn't all doom and gloom for the US with jobless claims falling from 375,000 to 342,000; this being the lowest level for 2 months and coming in better than the predicted 375,000.
Dollar weakness was tempered somewhat by chinks developing in the Eurozone armour. The Euro fell to a one-week low against the dollar on Thursday after a survey showed German corporate sentiment deteriorated by more than expected in April.
The German IFO business climate fell from 104.80 in March to 102.40 this month, which was significantly lower than the market expectation of 104.0pts. This is the weakest level since January 2006 and could well be the turning point of the single currency's uptrend.
On the UK side retail sales came in down 0.4% for March but were revised up to 4.6% for the year. The British Retail Consortium demonstrated concern that this figure was misleading given that the retail sector are making sounds that they are struggling.
Sterling failed to lift itself out of it's current trough against the Euro as poor sentiment on Britain's economy convinced investors the Bank of England is set to cut interest rates further.
This week it remained just above a record low against the Euro as the housing market weakened and consumer spending softened, although we have seen some fight back this morning. There's hope yet for the British holiday maker in Europe!
Oil prices retreated yesterday but the strike at Grangemouth refinery is still expected to go ahead on Sunday and has triggered panic buying in the north of England. Meanwhile Gold dipped to a three week low of $898.20 a troy ounce from 905.50 on Wednesday.
The contents of this blog are for information purposes only. It is not intended as a recommendation to trade or a solicitation for funds. The Wise Money Blog cannot be held responsible for any loss or damages arising from any action taken following consideration of this information.
Labels: credit crunch, New Home Sales, wise money
posted by Wise Money @ 1:09 PM
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