United States gross domestic product rose at a 2.8 percent annualized rate after a 2.5 percent gain the prior three months, reports from Washington just emerged. Investors are watching U.S. data to gauge the health of the world’s largest economy after the Fed said last week it needs to see more evidence of sustained improvement before tapering its $85 billion monthly asset purchases. Jobless claims decreased by 9,000 to 336,000 in the week ended Nov. 2 from 345,000 the prior period, the Labor Department reported today in Washington. Tomorrow’s monthly employment report may show payrolls rising by 120,000 workers in October after a 148,000 gain in September, with a likely rise in jobless rates. The European Central Bank cut its benchmark interest rate to a record low after a drop in inflation to the slowest pace in four years threatened its mission to keep prices stable. The inflation in the Eurozone is currently less than half the ECB’s target and unemployment is at the highest level since the currency bloc was formed in 1999. ECB President Mario Draghi lowered the benchmark interest rate to 0.25 percent from 0.5 percent, using one of his remaining interest-rate cuts to bolster the economy. The ECB now has just one more quarter-point cut left before reaching zero, increasing the likelihood of unconventional tools such as quantitative easing or a negative deposit rate if the economic recovery stalls dues to slowing prices. EURUSD was last seen trading at 1.3295, a fall from the highest registered today before the US session opened at 1.3529.
Posted on: Thu, 07 Nov 2013 14:43:41 +0000
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