Forex European Preview 06.05.2009

Switzerland’s Consumer Price Index is expected to show prices shrank at an annual pace of -0.9% in May, the third consecutive month that CPI has printed in negative territory. A survey of economists conducted by Bloomberg expects deflation will persist for the remainder of 2009 as economic growth remains subdued. Switzerland was confirmed to be in recession after GDP shrank in the six months ending in March and positive growth is not expected to return at least until the second quarter of next year. The downturn could be prolonged for substantially longer if expectations of lower prices become entrenched, encouraging consumers and businesses to wait for the best possible bargain and perpetually hold off on spending and investment.

Turning to the UK, May’s Producer Price Index report is expected to reveal that the annual pace of wholesale inflation shrank -0.4%, the first time in nearly seven years. The reading implies downward pressure on consumer prices (the headline inflation gauge) in the months ahead as lower production costs are passed on via cheaper finished products. Although inflation now stands at 2.3%, a reading comfortably close to the Bank of England’s 2% target level, economists expect price growth to slip below 1% through the second half of this year. Median estimates from the bank now suggest economic growth will average 0.02% over 2010, an assumption that yields forecasts of a return to inflation above 1% in the first quarter of next year.

On balance, forex traders are likely to look past the European data docket, with price action waiting for the release of the US Non Farm Payrolls report late into the session to guide directional momentum. Expectations call for payrolls to drop 520k in May as the unemployment rate surges to a 26-year high at 2.6%. Markets have viewed the health of the US economy as a proxy for that of the world at large, expecting a rebound in the largest consumer market to offer positive spillover elsewhere.

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