Yesterday's session brought German Industrial Production and Trade Balance figures from Eurozone. In December 2015, production in industry in Germany was down 1.2% from the previous month on a price, seasonally and working day adjusted basis, thus missing forecasts on 0.2% increase. In November 2015, the corrected figure shows a decreased of 0.1% (primary –0.3%) from October 2015. In December 2015, production in industry excluding energy and construction was down by 1.1%. Within industry, the production of capital goods decreased by 2.6% and the production of consumer goods by 1.4%. The production of intermediate goods showed an increased 0.8% .Energy production fell by 3.0% in December 2015 and the production in construction decreased by 0.2%.
Separate report showed that Germany exported goods to the value of 1,195.8 billion euros and imported goods to the value of 948.0 billion euros in 2015. Based on provisional data, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) also reports that
German exports increased by 6.4% and imports by 4.2% in 2015 compared with 2014. In 2015, export and import levels were higher than the previous all-time highs recorded in 2014. That year, Germany exported goods to the value of 1,123.7 billion euros and imported goods to the value of 910.1 billion euros.
In the US session JOLTS Job Openings data was published. Job openings rose to 5.6 million in December. The job openings rate was 3.8 percent. The number of job openings increased in December for total private and was little changed for government. Job openings increased in construction (+69,000), nondurable goods manufacturing (+60,000), and durable goods manufacturing (+26,000). In the regions, job openings increased in the West over the month.
There will be no major data releases both from Eurozone tomorrow. In the US session Janet Yellen is due to testify on the Semiannual Monetary Policy Report before the House Financial Services Committee, in Washington DC, which should bring some volatility to the markets.
Figures to watch:
JOLTS Job Openings (Tuesday 16:00)
Fed Chair Yellen Testifies (Wednesday 16:00)
