American focus: the dollar strengthened slightly against the euro

The dollar rose slightly against the euro, which in part helped U.S. data, which showed that the U.S. trade deficit with other countries widened in April, as the Americans have shown interest to foreign goods, such as cars and cell phones, which outpaced the growth of exports.

The U.S. deficit in international trade of goods and services grew by 8.5% in April to $ 40 300 million from a revised $ 37.1 billion in the previous month, the Commerce Department said. The deficit increased because imports rose by $ 5.4 billion, while exports increased by only $ 2.2 billion.

Economists had expected the deficit to reach $ 41.1 billion

The report obtained further evidence that the U.S. economy is currently working on the consumer, which makes spending, buying foreign cars, clothing, medicine and other goods at higher prices in recent months. The higher cost of Americans, the more it helps to compensate for the reduction in government spending and weakness in the manufacturing sector.

Indeed, the report provided some encouraging signs for exporters, with exports of automobiles and consumer goods reached record levels, although these figures are not adjusted for inflation. However, the report found signs that the economy of Europe and Asia are weakening.

In real terms, or inflation-adjusted deficit, which economists use to measure the impact of trade on gross domestic product, increased by $ 2.9 billion to $ 47.6 billion, compared with the previous month.

The report also shows other broader trends, such as falling demand for imported oil due to several factors, such as increased domestic production and higher fuel efficiency of cars. The seasonally adjusted in April crude oil imports fell to its lowest level since November 2010.

The pound was down against the U.S. dollar, even though the published data, which showed that after six months of decline in May, the PMI index in the construction sector in Britain rose to 50.8 vs. 49.4 previously. Analysts had expected the result at 49.7. The growth of the construction of houses was the most significant in the last 26 months. Meanwhile, the latest survey pointed to a further reduction of commercial construction and civil engineering work, although in both cases the rate of decline was less than April. However, the rate of growth of new orders and was slightly weaker than the long-term average. Assessing the prospects for 12 months, three times as many construction firms (40%) expects output growth than those that are waiting for lower (13%). This indicates the improvement in business confidence since April. Nevertheless, the employment was generally unchanged. Meanwhile, the acquisition of resources decreases the twelfth consecutive month in May, although the latter decline was minimal during this period. The survey respondents indicated a significant lengthening lead times from suppliers in May. The most notable deterioration in September 2007 largely reflects the low level of reserves and the power shortage.

The Canadian dollar was down against the U.S. dollar, while the U.S. currency gained broad support after saving the Reserve Bank of Australia, its interest rate, but did not rule out further cuts to come. Australia's central bank kept the overnight rate unchanged at 2.75%, but the statement was dominated by soft tone in a statement that the proposed further cuts in policy could provide. This has weakened the Australian dollar, the U.S. dollar giving little space to get in most of the major currencies. Add the presented data showed that the U.S. trade deficit widened to $ 40.30 billion in April, the expectations of $ 41.1 billion, while the trade balance was a deficit of Canada 567,000,000