Foreign Exchange Market Update

April 23, 2025

United States (U.S.): Crude Oil Inventories Unexpectedly Inch Higher

The Energy Information Administration released a report showing an uptick by U.S. crude oil inventories in the week ending on April 18. The report said crude oil inventories crept up by 0.2 million barrels last week after rising by 0.5 million barrels the previous week. Economists expected crude oil inventories to dip by 0.7 million barrels. At 443.1 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories remain about 5% below the five-year average for this time of year. 

Meanwhile, gasoline inventories tumbled by 4.5 million barrels last week and are about 3% below the five-year average for this time of year. Distillate fuel inventories, which include heating oil and diesel, also decreased by 2.4 million barrels last week and are about 13% below the five-year average for this time of year. 04/23/2025 - 10:36:00 (RTTNews)

European Union (E.U.): Eurozone Trade Surplus Grows in February

Euro traded at 1.1364 against USD at 9:00 AM PST.

The euro area trade surplus increased in February from a year ago as exports grew faster than imports, figures from Eurostat showed. The trade surplus rose to EUR 24.0 billion in February from EUR 21.7 billion in the last year. The surplus totaled EUR 0.8 billion in January. Exports climbed 6.2% annually, faster than the 2.8% rise in January. 

Meanwhile, growth in imports slowed to 5.7% from 7.5%. Compared to the same period last year, the surplus in the chemicals sector saw a remarkable increase. Meanwhile, sectors such as machinery and vehicles and other manufactured goods experienced a slight decrease, Eurostat said. On a seasonally adjusted basis, exports grew 4.5% and imports advanced 2.0%. As a result, the trade surplus increased to EUR 21.0 billion from EUR 14.4 billion in January. 04/23/2025 - 07:45:00 (RTTNews)

Hong Kong (H.K.): Inflation Remains Stable in March

Hong Kong Dollar traded at 7.7597 against USD at 9:00 AM PST.

Hong Kong's CPI held steady in March after easing the previous month, data released by the Census and Statistics Department showed. The CPI climbed 1.4% yearly in March, same as February. The rise in inflation was curbed mainly by the decreases in inbound and outbound transport fares and the charges for package tours. Food prices rose only 0.3% annually in March, while utility costs surged by 14.0%. On the other hand, clothing and footwear prices showed a decline of 2.8%. Netting out the effects of all the government's one-off relief measures, underlying inflation was 1.0% versus 1.3% in February. The average monthly rate of increase for the 3-month period ending in March was 0%. 04/23/2025 - 07:29:00 (RTTNews)

Taiwan: Industrial Output Growth Eases; Retail Sales Rebound

New Taiwan Dollar traded at 32.4770 against USD at 9:00 AM PST.

Taiwan's industrial production growth remained strong but eased, while retail sales showed a slight increase in March, separate reports from the Ministry of Economic Affairs showed. Industrial production advanced 13.65% yearly in March, much slower than the 18.21% surge in February. Among the main sectors, the annual growth of manufacturing output eased to 14.71% from 19.29%, while mining and quarrying production contracted by 5.16%. Data showed that the electricity and gas supply segment also logged a decline of 5.31%. Monthly, industrial production fell a seasonally adjusted 0.55% from February, when it rebounded by 5.05%. 

Another report from the statistical office showed that retail sales rose 0.4% in March, in contrast to a 3.8% drop in the prior month. Sales at general merchandise stores grew 4.26% from last year, while the decline in sales of textiles and clothing in specialized stores eased sharply from 21.56% to 4.31%. 04/23/2025 - 07:09:00 (RTTNews)