EU Morning Report- Chinese growth disappoints, eyes on US inflation

The US dollar weakened against its major counterparts yesterday following the poor Jobless Claims data from the US. People applying for jobless benefits last week rose to a two month high raising fears about the US economic recovery. Against the Japanese yen, the dollar weakened to 80.73 from 81.12 but today the pair recovered to trade as high as 81.19. US Producer Price Index also disappointed the markets after it revealed a softer than expected figure. Today focus turns to the US Consumer Price Index data which is expected to fall which may put pressure on the dollar as lower inflation may increase expectations for further stimulus.

The Australian dollar dropped to 1.0380 from 1.0452 against a stronger US dollar after Chinese Gross Domestic Product figures disappointed investors who were expecting a strong growth. Figures showed that China’s economy grew 8.1% in the first year of 2012 below forecasts of 8.3%. China is Australia’s largest trade partner and any sign of economic slowdown from China weighs on the Aussie.

Oil prices jumped to 104.22 dollars a barrel from 102.17. Gold edged higher to 1680.03 dollars an ounce from 1650.40. Against the euro, gold climbed to 1272.82 from 1265.61 an ounce. Silver rose to 32.56 dollars an ounce from 31.41. Stay in tune throughout the day with !