The U.S.
dollar rose against the most major currencies. The U.S. currency was still
boosted by the better-than-expected U.S. economic data, published on Tuesday.
U.S. durable goods orders rose 0.8% in April, after a 2.9% gain in March. The
U.S. consumer confidence index climbed to 83.0 in May, from 81.7 in April.
The euro hits
3-month lows against the U.S. dollar. The decrease of the euro was driven by the
disappointing economic data in the Eurozone and expectations for further
stimulus measures from the European Central Bank. The number of people
unemployed in Germany surged by 24,000 this month to 2.905 million. That was
the largest increase in five years in May. Analysts had expected a decline by
14,000.
The German
unemployment rate remained unchanged at 6.7%. This figure was expected by
analysts.
Consumer
spending in France fell 0.3% in April, after a 0.4% gain in March. Analysts had
expected a 0.5 increase. On a yearly basis, consumer spending in France dropped
0.5% in April, after a 1.2% fall in March.
Adjusted M3
money supply in the Eurozone climbed 0.8% in April, after a 1.1% increase in
March. Analysts had forecasted a 1.2% gain.
Private
loans in the Eurozone declined 1.8% in April (March: -2.2%), beating
expectations of a 2.1% fall.
The British
pound hits 6-week lows against the U.S. dollar due to the weaker-than-expected
U.K. retail sale volumes. The Confederation of British Industry released the
U.K. retail sale volumes on Wednesday. The U.K. retail sale volumes dropped
unexpectedly in May. The CBI retail sales volume balance was +16 in May, from
+30 in April. It means that retail sales volume climbed in May from last year.
The Swiss
franc traded lower against the U.S. dollar. Switzerland's gross domestic
product climbed 0.5% in the first quarter (Q4 2013: +0.2%), meeting analysts’
expectations.
On a yearly
basis, Switzerland's gross domestic product rose 2.0% in the first quarter (Q4
2013: +1.7%), missing analysts’ expectations of a 2.1% gain.
The New
Zealand dollar hits 2.5-month lows against the U.S due to the
weaker-than-expected New Zealand’s economic data. The ANZ business confidence
index for New Zealand dropped to 53.5 in Mai, from 64.8 in April.
The
Australian dollar traded lower against the U.S. dollar. Construction work done
in Australia increased 0.3% in the first quarter, from a 1.1% decline in the
fourth quarter of 2013. The fourth quarter of 2013 figure was revised down to a
1.1% fall from a 1% decrease. Analysts had expected a 0.3% fall.
Australia’s
April leading index from Westpac Bank and the Melbourne Institute fell 0.5% to
a score of 98.0. That was the weakest reading since late 2011.
The Japanese yen traded higher against the U.S.
dollar after comments from the Bank of Japan governor Haruhiko Kuroda. He said
that the monetary easing is possible even with interest rates at around zero
percent. Market participants speculate that the Bank of Japan will implement
further monetary easing measures to reach its inflation target.