Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Euro story driven by growth

The US economy is showing some signs of not willing to fall off a cliff. Total new orders for durable goods was up 1.3 %, the same as last month and higher than expectations. This is the highest we have seen this year and the first back to back positive months above 1% since April-March 2007. The ex-defense new orders were up 2.8% which is a good sign that the growth is coming from the private sector. Nondefense capital goods was up 6.3% which was another good sign.

The higher than expected durable goods numbers contrast with the decline in IFO expectations in Germany which showed an unexpected decrease. Both the business climate and current assessments came in lower than expected. All of the second quarter numbers for Germany came in negative except for government spending and consumer confidence is falling.

The growth differential plays to the current trend in dollar appreciation. Without any action from the monetary side to help the economy, this economic and dollar trend will continue.

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