Market Overview: October 18, 2024
Today’s market focus is centered around UK retail sales and U.S. housing data. Additionally energy prices and metals show some notable shifts.
Key Data Points
- UK Retail Sales (MoM) for September increased by 0.3%, beating the forecast of a 0.3% drop. Year-on-year, sales rose by 3.9%, showing resilience despite prior concerns of a slowdown.
- U.S. Housing Starts (MoM) for September came in at 1.35 million, slightly below the expected 1.36 million, reflecting continued challenges in the housing market.
- Building Permits (MoM) held steady at 1.46 million, in line with market expectations.
Energy Movements:
- Crude Oil prices are up 0.65%, trading at $71.13 per barrel, as the market recovers from a 5.86% weekly drop. Brent is also higher by 0.53%, trading at $74.84 per barrel. Despite today’s gains, oil remains down nearly 18% over the year.
- Natural Gas is seeing a minor uptick of 0.05%, now priced at $2.35 per MMBtu, though it’s been under pressure recently, down over 10% this week.
- Gasoline is up 0.50%, trading at $2.05 per gallon, despite a 4.42% weekly decline.
Currency Movements
- EUR/USD is up 0.14%, trading at 1.0844, though the euro is down 0.84% for the week, reflecting mixed signals from the European economy.
- GBP/USD has risen 0.41% to 1.3068 as UK retail sales outperformed expectations. This comes after the pound saw limited movement earlier in the week.
- AUD/USD is up 0.22%, trading at 0.6714, although it remains down 0.53% over the week.
- USD/JPY is slightly lower, down 0.14% at 149.91, but the yen remains weak over the year with the pair up by 6.24%.
- USD/CNY has declined 0.30%, with the yuan sitting at 7.1161 as China’s economic outlook remains subdued.
Metals Market:
- Copper is up by 1.71%, trading at $4.36 per pound, bouncing back from recent declines.
- Gold continues its upward trajectory, rising 0.46% to $2,706 per ounce, reflecting its safe-haven status amid economic uncertainty.
- Silver follows suit, climbing 0.68% to $31.99 per ounce.
Gold price by GoldBroker.com
Things to Keep an Eye on
- U.S. Building Permits and Housing Starts data may provide further insights into the housing market’s trajectory.
- Several Fed speeches throughout the day could offer hints on future U.S. monetary policy.
- Watch for Monthly Budget Statement details, which could influence market sentiment around fiscal policy in the U.S.
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