The Federal Reserve has maintained the pace of its $85 billion a month bond buying plan and gave no explicit indication that tapering of monetary stimulus is imminent.
However, the Fed might be able to unwind some of its asset purchases if economic conditions warrant later this year, Chairman Ben...
Outgoing Bank of England Governor Mervyn King was outvoted in his final policy meeting, as most policymakers overturned his call for additional stimulus citing sustained economic recovery, the minutes of the session held on June 5 and 6 showed Wednesday. As seen in the past few months, King, Paul Fisher and David Miles sought an increase in quantitative easing by GBP 25 billion.
A leading indicator of Australian economic activity continued to signal above-trend growth for the economy in the coming quarters, a report from Westpac and Melbourne Institute showed Wednesday. The annualized growth rate of the leading index, which indicates the likely pace of economic activity three to nine months into the future, was 5.4 percent in April, comfortably above its long term trend.
After reporting decreases in consumer prices in each of the two previous months, the Labor Department released a report on Tuesday showing a modest increase in prices in the month of May.
The Labor Department said its consumer price index inched up by 0.1 percent in May after falling by 0.4 percent in April and dipping by 0.2 percent in March.
New residential construction in the U.S. showed a significant rebound in the month of May, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Tuesday, although housing starts still came in well below economist estimates. The report said housing starts climbed 6.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 914,000 in May from the revised April estimate of 856,000.
Germany's investor confidence increased more-than-expected in June after staying broadly unchanged in the previous month, signaling the prospects for a further pick up in the recovery that started at the beginning of the year.
U.K. consumer price inflation rose more than expected in May, largely driven by the previous month's steep increase in air-fares, smaller decrease in fuel costs and a rise in clothing prices, a report from the Office for National Statistics showed Tuesday. The rate of inflation rose to 2.7 percent in May from 2.4 percent in April. Economists expected an increase to 2.6 percent.
European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said on Tuesday that the central bank have not ruled out the possibility of negative deposit rates and other non-standard policy measures in the euro area. Speaking at the farewell conference for Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer in Jerusalem, Draghi said, "We will look with an open mind at these measures."
Passenger car registrations in Europe dropped sharply in May and hit the lowest level recorded for the month in twenty years, as the region's ongoing recession continued to weigh on sentiment, dragging demand for many leading car brands. The data has dealt a fresh blow to manufacturers' hopes of the sector recovering from the downtrend.
A leading indicator of Chinese economic activity rose marginally in May and at a slower pace than a month earlier, suggesting more sluggish growth for the overall economy in the months ahead. The Conference Board said that its leading economic indicator rose 0.3 percent month-on-month in May, slower than a 1.5 percent increase in April. Only three of the six components contributed positively.
Members of the Reserve Bank of Australia's monetary policy board felt that the central bank could still allow for additional monetary easing because inflation remains in check, minutes from the bank's June 4 meeting revealed on Tuesday. The easing might become necessary down the road, the bank said, since domestic growth has remained slightly below trend through the last four quarters. Global economic activity has been in line with forecasts, the minutes showed.
Homebuilder confidence in the U.S. jumped much more than expected in the month of June, according to a report released by the National Association of Home Builders on Monday, with the group's homebuilder confidence index surging up to a seven-year high. The report said the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index soared to 52 in June from 44 in May.
Conditions for New York manufacturers improved modestly in the month of June, according to a report released by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on Monday, with the index of activity in the sector climbing into positive territory. The New York Fed said its general business conditions index rose to a positive 7.8 in June from a negative 1.4 in May.
India's central bank decided to keep its key interest rates steady as a weak currency and the huge current account deficit limited room for another rate cut. At the mid-quarter review on Monday, the Reserve Bank of India, led by Governor Duvvuri Subbarao, maintained the repo rate at 7.25 percent and the reverse repo rate at 6.25 percent.
Singapore's non-oil exports declined more than expected in May, due to a drop in electronic shipments, the latest data from International Enterprise (IE) Singapore showed Monday. The non-oil domestic exports (NODX) fell 4.6 percent year-on-year in May, following a 1 percent decrease in April. Economists had forecast a 1 percent decline in exports.