外匯市場最新訊息

June 18, 2025

United States (U.S.)

The Commerce Department released a report on Wednesday showing a steep drop in new residential construction in the U.S. during May. The report stated that housing starts declined by 9.8% to an annual rate of 1.256 million in May, following a 2.7% increase to a revised rate of 1.392 million in April. The large decrease in housing starts is reflected by a nosedive in multi-family housing starts, which plummeted by almost 30% to an annual rate of 332,000. On the other hand, the Commerce Department said single-family housing starts rose by 0.4% to an annual rate of 924,000. The report also said building permits slumped by 2.0% to an annual rate of 1.393 million in May after tumbling by 4.0% to a revised rate of 1.422 million in April.

While building permits for single-family homes decreased by 2.7% to an annual rate of 898,000, building permits for multi-family homes fell by 0.8% to an annual rate of 495,000. Building permits indicate a slower pace of construction, while May retail sales data suggested that home improvement spending is slowing. 

A separate report released by the National Association of Home Builders on Tuesday showed homebuilder confidence in the U.S. continued to deteriorate in June. The report said the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index fell to 32 in June from 34 in May. With the decrease, the housing market index dropped to its lowest level since plunging to 30 at the start of the Covid pandemic in April 2020. 06/18/2025 - 10:14:00 (RTTNews)

First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits edged modestly lower in the week ending on June 14, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Wednesday. The report said initial jobless claims fell to 245,000, a decrease of 5,000 from the previous week's revised level of 250,000. The upwardly revised figure for the previous week marked the highest level for jobless claims since they hit 259,000 in the week ending on October 5, 2024.

Despite the slight decline in initial jobless claims in the week ending on June 14, both initial and continuing unemployment claims are trending higher. Both are consistent with a gradual softening in labor market conditions. With inflation risks looming, the economy is weakening enough to force the Federal Reserve into rate cuts in the coming months. 

Meanwhile, the Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average rose to 245,500, an increase of 4,750 from the previous week's revised average of 240,750. With the uptick, the four-week moving average reached its highest level since hitting 246,000 in the week ending on August 19, 2023.

The Labor Department claimed that a reading on the number of people receiving ongoing unemployment assistance edged down by 6,000 to 1.945 million in the week ending on June 7. The four-week moving average of continuing claims rose by 13,000 to 1,926,250, reaching the highest level since November 2021. 06/18/2025 - 10:11:00 (RTTNews)

Eurozone

Euro traded at 1.1524 against USD at 9:00 AM PST

Eurozone inflation slowed in May due to falling energy prices. Inflation softened to 1.9% in May from 2.2% in April. The rate fell below the European Central Bank's (ECB) 2% target for the first time since September 2024. Core inflation, which strips out prices of energy, food, alcohol, and tobacco, slowed to 2.3% from 2.7%. 

Monthly, the harmonized index of consumer prices (HICP) and the core index remained flat in May. Food inflation accelerated to 3.2% from 3.0%, while services inflation softened to 3.2% from 4.0%. At the same time, non-energy industrial goods logged a steady growth of 0.6%.

Energy prices declined 3.6% in May, the same rate of drop as seen in April. Earlier this month, the ECB slashed its interest rates by 25 basis points, marking the eighth reduction in a year. Also, the ECB staff trimmed the inflation forecast for this year and next by 0.3% points to 2.0% and 1.6%. 06/18/2025 - 05:38:00 (RTTNews)

The euro area’s current account surplus fell to a nearly one-year low in April, ECB reported Wednesday. The current account showed a surplus of EUR 20 billion in April compared to a EUR 51 billion surplus in March. This was the lowest since May 2023, when the surplus was EUR 16 billion.

Surpluses were registered for goods and services, but both declined from the previous month. Meanwhile, the primary income account was balanced. The surplus on goods trade fell to EUR 30 billion from EUR 44 billion and the surplus on services decreased to EUR 7 billion from EUR 13 billion. Secondary income posted a shortfall of EUR 16 billion compared to a deficit of EUR 13 billion the prior month. 

In the twelve months to April, the current account surplus widened to EUR 419 billion or 2.8% of euro area GDP, which was up from a surplus of EUR 339 billion or 2.3% of GDP a year earlier. 06/18/2025 - 05:59:00 (RTTNews)

United Kingdom (U.K.) Inflation Slows Slightly in May

British Pounds traded at 1.3472 against USD at 9:00 AM PST

U.K. consumer price inflation softened in May as the slowdown in transportation costs was largely offset by the rise in food prices and reinforced expectations that the Bank of England (BoE) will maintain the interest rate steady this week. The consumer price index (CPI) registered an annual increase of 3.4%, slightly slower than the 3.5% rise seen in April.

The CPI inflation rate and index were overstated in April by 0.1% as a result of an error in the Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) component. The April figures have not been amended, but the corrected VED information has been used to produce the May index.

Monthly, the CPI gained only 0.2%, much slower than the 1.2% rise seen in April. Core inflation, which excludes the prices of energy, food, alcohol, and tobacco, eased to 3.5% from 3.8% in the previous month.

Inflation data came ahead of the BoE monetary policy announcement on June 19. The bank lowered the rate four times since last August. Although inflation eased in May, the elevated level remains a real concern for businesses and confirms that price pressures persist. Taxation is the most cited concern among firms. Further, there is a significant risk to global supply chains from the recent escalation between Israel and Iran.

The largest downward contribution to overall inflation came from transport, while food, furniture, and household goods provided upward contributions. Transport costs grew 0.7% in May from a year ago. The slowdown reflected falls in airfares and the price of motor fuels, together with the correction of an error in the VED series. The CPI goods climbed at a faster pace of 2.0% after a 1.7% rise. The rate hit its highest since November 2023. Meanwhile, services inflation slowed to 4.7% from 5.4%.

A sharp slowdown in the U.K. house price growth in April was due to the end of the stamp duty holiday. House prices grew 3.5% year-on-year in April, following March's 7.0% increase. 06/18/2025 - 09:34:00 (RTTNews)