Foreign exchange market. Asian session: the Australian dollar climbed against the U.S. dollar after the Reserve Bank of Australia’s interest rate decision

Economic calendar (GMT0):

01:00    Australia                Retail Sales Y/Y                                                                   April        +5.7%               +5.7%

01:00    China                    Non-Manufacturing PMI                                                      May          54.8                  55.5

01:30    Australia                Retail sales (MoM)                                                               April        +0.1%  +0.3%   +0.2%

01:30    Australia                Current Account, bln                                                         Quarter I  -10.1     -7.1        -5.7

01:30    Japan                    Labor Cash Earnings, YoY                                                  April        +0.7%  +0.6%   +0.9%

01:45    China                    HSBC Manufacturing PMI (Finally)                                        May         49.7      49.7       49.4

04:30    Australia                Announcement of the RBA decision on the discount rate                  2.50%   2.50%    2.50%

04:30    Australia                RBA Rate Statement                                                   

06:00    United Kingdom     Nationwide house price index                                              May         +1.2%  +0.7%   +0.7%

06:00    United Kingdom     Nationwide house price index, y/y                                       May       +10.9    +10.9% +11.1%

08:30    United Kingdom     PMI Construction                                                                May          60.8      61.2       60.0

09:00    Eurozone               Harmonized CPI, Y/Y (Preliminary)                                       May         +0.7%  +0.7%   +0.5%

09:00    Eurozone               Unemployment Rate                                                           April         11.8%   11.8%    11.7%

The U.S. dollar traded lower against the most major currencies due to the disappointing ISM manufacturing purchase managers’ index in the U.S. The Institute of Supply Management released its manufacturing purchasing managers' index for the U.S. The index dropped to 53.2 in May, from 54.9 in April. Analysts had expected a gain to 55.5.

The New Zealand dollar traded higher against the U.S dollar due to speculation New Zealand’s currency will benefit along with the Australian dollar. Market participants are awaiting the release of the Australian economic growth tomorrow. Australia’s economy should expand 1.1% in the first quarter.

In the absence of any major economic reports in New Zealand, investors also remain concerned about the impact of lower dairy prices on the economy and the interest rate.

The Australian dollar climbed against the U.S. dollar after the Reserve Bank of Australia’s interest rate decision. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) kept interest rate unchanged at a record low 2.5% as expected. The RBA decided to continue accommodative monetary policy. Accommodative monetary policy should provide support to demand and to economic growth.

Earlier in the trading session, Australian retail sales were released. Retail sales in Australia increased 0.2% in April, missing expectations of a 0.3% gain in March, after a 0.1% rise in March.

Australia’s current account deficit declined to AUD5.67 billion in the first quarter from AUD11.7 billion the previous quarter. The deficit of the previous quarter was revised down to AUD11.7 billion from a deficit of AUD10.1 billion. Analysts had expected a reduction of the deficit to AUD7.0 billion.

The Japanese yen traded little changed against the U.S. dollar. Labor cash earning in Japan rose 0.9% in April, exceeding expectations for a 0.6% gain, after a 0.7% increase in March.

EUR/USD: the currency pair increased to $1.3605

GBP/USD: the currency pair traded mixed

USD/JPY: the currency pair traded mixed

AUD/USD: the currency pair increased to $0.9268

The most important news that are expected (GMT0):

14:00    U.S.     Factory Orders April      +1.1%  +0.6%