Holborn Market Recap 13-17 July 2020

Good day, this is Holborn’s weekly market recap. Let’s take a look at this week’s news in finance.

Monday July 13th

News in finance: On Monday, the Bank of England’s (BoE) Governor Andrew Bailey said in a speech that the central bank’s governing board is considering if it should create a digital currency. At the beginning of the year, the BoE joined a group of central banks to explore the potential of state-administered digital currencies.

In eurozone’s financial updates, Fabio Panetta, a board member of the European Central Bank (ECB) urged Croatia and Bulgaria to rectify their economies before joining the group of countries that use the Euro as state currency. Panetta noted that the ECB and the European Commission (EC) would carefully monitor the implementation of the commitments.

Tuesday July 14th

News in finance: On Tuesday, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) released data which showed that the UK’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 1.8% in May, on a month-to-month basis. Economists had been expecting a rise of 5.5% however, they suggest that they expect a much stronger bounce in output in June and July as the UK economy reopens.

In eurozone’s financial updates, data published by Eurostat revealed that the euro bloc’s industrial production rebounded in May, increasing by 12.4% on a month to month basis. On an annualised basis, the bloc’s industrial production fell by 20.9%.

In the US, the Bureau of Labour Statistics announced that the country’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) stood at 0.6% in June, on a year-to-year basis. The figure was in line with market expectations.

Wednesday July 15th

News in finance: On Wednesday, the Bank of Japan’s (BoJ) governing board convened to decide on interest rates. As market analysts expected, the BoJ kept its benchmark interest rates unchanged at -0.1%.

In the UK, the ONS published a survey which showed that the country’s CPI inflation came in at 0.6% in June, on a year-to-year basis, a bit higher than the anticipated figure of 0.4%. The accompanying report said that rising prices for games and clothing contributed to inflation’s rise.

The Bank of Canada (BoC) had its monthly meeting after which its governing board announced that it would be keeping interest rates unchanged at 0.25%. The BoC’s Governor Tiff Macklem said that interest rates would remain near historic lows for an extended period as businesses are facing an unusual amount of uncertainty.

Thursday July 16th

News in finance: On Thursday, Statistics New Zealand published data which showed that the country’s inflation stood at 1.5% in the second quarter of the year, on an annualised basis.

In Australia, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) announced that the country’s unemployment rate in June came in at 7.4%, in line with economists’ expectations.

The Chinese GDP grew by 3.2% in the second quarter of the year, on a yearly basis, according to figures published by the country’s National Bureau of Statistics. Analysts had been expecting a figure close to 2%.

In eurozone’s financial updates, the ECB’s policymakers met to decide on interest rates. The ECB’s head Christine Lagarde announced that interest rates would remain on hold and added that the emergency coronavirus bond-buying program would be maintained at its current levels. Lagarde noted that the economic recovery is in its early stages and remains uneven across sectors and jurisdictions.

Friday July 17th

News in finance: On Friday, Eurostat published a survey regarding the euro bloc’s inflation. According to the survey, the eurozone’s inflation came in at 0.3% in June, on an annualised basis. The figure is still far below the ECB’s target of 2%.

From all of us at Holborn Assets have a lovely weekend!