Here's our summary of key economic events overnight that affect New Zealand, with news investors are on the down side of their recent yo-yoing.
In the US, jobless claims for last week came in higher than expected and the prior week's data was revised up. But the number of people now on unemployment benefits fell again and by more than expected to 12.6 mln and almost -1 mln less than last week as qualifications start to expire more rapidly now. It was a data release that knocked Wall Street. And the US dollar is weaker.
Reinforcing the feeling of atrophy, both building permits and new housing starts fell in August, below estimates and confirming a housing bounce back that never quite lived up to expectations.
It is not all negative however. The latest PhillyFed regional factory survey for September came in positive and as expected even if it is growing at a slower pace than in August.
And there are signs the US trade balance with China - already the worst ever - is about to get a lot worse with imports pouring in so fast at West Coast ports, freight operators are overwhelmed.
The latest version of the ADP payroll survey in Canada has revealed a sharp drop in employment in August although the fall wasn't as steep as they reported in July.
There were central bank interest rate decisions in five countries overnight - Japan, Indonesia, Taiwan, England and South Africa - and none of them changed rate settings. But the English did open the door to negative interest rates.
China's goal of making its currency a powerhouse of international trade is still going nowhere despite recent claims. In September it had just 1.2% of all settlements a tiny loss in two years. In contrast, the US dollar was used in 43.2% of transactions, up over two years, while the euro was used in 37% of transactions. As a pricing basis, the yuan is probably even lower.
In Hong Kong, their jobless rate held steady at 6.1% in August and they didn't report the rise in unemployment that analysts had expected.
The August labour market data for Australia was out yesterday too showing a fall in their jobless rate from 7.5% to 6.8%. More than +111,000 new jobs were created but more than two-thirds of them were part-time positions. Their underemployment rate is still over 11%. Of course, none of this is helped by the Victorian lockdown.
On Wall Street today, the S&P500 is down a sharp -1.6% in afternoon trade and the losses seem to be building. The NASDAQ is down nearly -2.2%. Overnight, European markets closed lower by about -0.6%. Yesterday, Shanghai ended the day down -0.4%, Hong Kong was down -1.6% and Tokyo was down -0.7% on the day. The ASX200 ended down more than -1.2% while the NZX50 Capital Index slipped only -0.3%.
The latest global compilation of COVID-19 data is here. The global tally is 29,961,000 and up +304,000 in one day. Global deaths now exceed 942,000 (+9,000).
Just under a quarter of all reported cases globally are in the US, which is up 43,000 in one day to 6,845,000. Active cases are little-changed at 2,510,000. Their death total is now just over 201,800 and still rising at more than +1000 a day (and now 609/mln).
In Australia, there have now been 26,813 COVID-19 cases reported, and that is only +34 more cases from yesterday and mainly from Victoria and NSW. Deaths however are up sharply however at 832 (+16). Their recovery rate is now almost 89%.
The UST 10yr yield is unchanged at just on 0.68%. Their 2-10 rate curve is firmer however at +56 bps, their 1-5 curve is up at +15 bps, while their 3m-10 year curve is now just under +61 bps. The Australian Govt 10 year yield is down -2 bps at 0.89%. The China Govt 10 year yield is unchanged at 3.16%. However, the New Zealand Govt 10 year yield is lower yet again, down another -3 bps at 0.55%.
The price of gold will start today down -US$16 at US$1944/oz.
Oil prices are firmer again today, up about +US$1 to just on US$41/bbl in the US while the international price is up slightly more to just under US$43.50/bbl. And here's a worrying and irresponsible trend.
The Kiwi dollar will start today unchanged at 67.4 USc. Against the Australian dollar we are marginally higher at 92.4 AUc. Against the euro we are still at 57 euro cents. That means our TWI-5 has remained at 70.3.
The bitcoin price is a little lower today, now at US$10,866 and -1.5% lower than this time yesterday. The bitcoin rate is charted in the exchange rate set below.
The easiest place to stay up with event risk today is by following our Economic Calendar here ».
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