by: iForex
Markets are rather quiet with most of Asian markets on Holiday today. Focus is turning to manufacturing data from UK and US. UK' manufacturing PMI is expected to have edged higher to 40 on April from 39.1 a month ago while mortgage approvals should have risen 40K in March from 38K in February. Moreover, M4 money supply in March will also be released today. In the previous month, M4 increased +17.6% on annual basis. In the US, ISM manufacturing probably improved to 37.8 in April from 36.3 in March, indicating that the pace of contraction has moderated. The price component is also expected to have risen to 33.3 in April from 31 a month ago. University of Michigan confidence index is anticipated to have revised down to 61.5 in April from initial of 61.9 while factory orders in March probably contracted -0.7% from +1.8% a month ago due to sharp decline in shipment. Crude Oil was up $0.15 ending the New York session at $51.12 per barrel. In US share markets, the Nasdaq was up 5 points or 0.31% and the Dow Jones was down 17 points or 0.22%. Looking ahead, Durable Goods Orders for March and ISM Manufacturing (April) forecast at 38 vs. 36.3 previously.