There are several events on the economic calendar today. The day started with some PMIs from China: the manufacturing one in June exceeded the forecasts, while the non-manufacturing marked a clear growth since last month.
Neighboring Japan delivered a better than anticipated housing starts report for May and a slightly improved consumer confidence report for June.
The United Kingdom presented its final reports on GDP growth in the first quarter of 2021. The YoY number was exactly as expected at -6.1%, while the QoQ was lower than the forecast at -1.6%.
Germany once again pleased investors with a better than expected unemployment change report, though the actual unemployment rate was as predicted at 5.9%.
The eurozone today presented its inflation data for June, which was exactly as forecasted.
The last major announcement of the day will be the ADP employment report, which is going to set the stage for Friday’s non-farm payrolls, arguably the biggest release of the week.
As for the stock market, all major US stock indices today will likely trade in a slightly subdued manner as the second quarter and first half of the year comes to an end today.
Despite a slightly shaky performance recently, stock indices have had a great first half with many record-breaking maximums. If the optimism about economic recovery continues during the remainder of 2021, we could expect more strength in stocks in the future as well.
Meanwhile, crude oil prices are moving up once more. There is an OPEC meeting scheduled for later this week but now experts are beginning to doubt whether the cartel and its allies will negotiate another increase in oil export quotas.
The renewed threat of the coronavirus due to the rapid spread of the Delta variant and the limited ability of last year’s vaccines to deal with it are raising concerns about the end of the pandemic, which seemed so close in sight. This in turn might suppress the demand for crude oil more than expected.
As a result, the Brent crude climbed to $74.87, while the WTI reached $73.77 per barrel.
