United States Goods and Services Trade Balance came in at $-57.3B, above expectations ($-59.2B) in February
TD Securities analysts characterize the Bank of Canada’s (BoC) March Summary of Deliberations as slightly dovish, consistent with the March 18 decision. They stress patience, citing inflation near target, weaker GDP, housing softness and labour market headwinds.
ING’s Frantisek Taborsky notes that Central and Eastern European currencies remain under pressure despite recent gains in the Forint, Zloty and Koruna.
Brazil Industrial Output (YoY) registered at -0.7% above expectations (-1%) in February
Brazil Industrial Output (MoM) came in at 0.9%, above forecasts (0.7%) in February
Standard Chartered’s India economists Anubhuti Sahay and Saurav Anand cut India’s FY27 GDP growth forecast to 6.4% from 7.0% and FY26 to 7.3% from 7.6%, citing elevated energy prices and Middle East tensions.
Silver (XAG/USD) has lost more than $10, hammered by a risk-averse reaction to US President Trump's televised message on Wednesday. The precious metal is testing levels below $71.00 at the time of writing, after peaking at $81.13 on Wednesday, as the Dollar prevails in risk-averse markets.
TD Securities analysts note that US yields flattened as geopolitical headlines from Iran and comments by Trump dominated sentiment. Strong ISM Manufacturing and Retail Sales data surprised to the upside, while they expect a below-consensus 30k payrolls print and unchanged unemployment.
OPEC+ is likely to weigh a further oil output quota hike at the meeting on April 5, Sunday, to prepare for any easing of Strait of Hormuz export constraints, according to a report from Reuters.
United States Challenger Job Cuts rose from previous 48.307K to 60.62K in March
BNY Mellon’s Geoff Yu highlights significant portfolio outflows from Middle East/North Africa (MENA) markets and warns that external funding gaps are likely to widen.
According to the Iranian state media, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRG) have reported that they targeted United States (US)-linked steel and aluminum facilities in Gulf states.
