Despite the smouldering trade dispute between the USA and key trading partners and a week on the stock markets with little economic data overall, the leading German index once again climbed to a new record high this trading week. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite Index also managed to reach new record highs.
DAX
Source: TradingView
Donald Trump holds out the prospect of blanket tariffs of 15 or 20 percent for most trading partners
On Thursday, Trump announced his intention to impose tariffs of 15 or 20 percent on imports for most trading partners. The European Union is thus threatened with the aforementioned blanket tariffs.
The EU and Canada could even receive letters today, Trump told US broadcaster NBC News. Canada is to pay a tariff of 35 percent on almost all imports into the United States from August 1.
German industrial production picks up significantly - revenues in EU retail trade down
Companies in Germany significantly increased their production in May. According to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), production in the manufacturing sector increased by 1.2% compared to the previous month.
Growth was particularly pronounced in the automotive, pharmaceutical and energy sectors.
Retail sales in the eurozone fell by 0.7 percent in May after three consecutive increases, according to the EU statistics office Eurostat on Monday. The decline was expected in advance, after +0.3 percent in April and +0.4 percent in March.
Fed minutes: Few Federal Open Market Committee members show openness to rate cut
The so-called "FOMC minutes", which provided important monetary policy signals, were published in the middle of the week. According to the minutes published late on Wednesday evening, only a "few monetary watchdogs" were open to lowering interest rates in July. The majority of the 19 members of the Open Market Committee expressed concern about the price pressure that threatens as a result of US tariff policy. However, a possible price shock from tariffs would probably only be "temporary or moderate", they added.
Dow Jones Industrial Average Index
Source: TradingView
Weekly claims for US unemployment benefits weaker than expected - Mary Daly fuels US interest rate cut fantasies
Weekly initial claims for US unemployment benefits came in weaker than expected at 227,000 units on Thursday afternoon (235,000), down from 233,000 units the week before.
Meanwhile, the words of Fed Governor Mary Daly on Thursday evening also caused a stir. In her opinion, the time for interest rate cuts is approaching. She believes that two interest rate cuts this year are a likely outcome.
Nasdaq Composite Index
Source: TradingView
S&P 500
Source: TradingView
