From Australia, yesterday, Private Capital Expenditure figures were released. The trend volume estimate for total new capital expenditure fell 4.0% in the December quarter 2015 while the seasonally adjusted estimate rose 0.8%. Analysts were expecting 3.1% decrease. However in general, as markets price today on forward expectations, the first estimate of 2016/17 capex was just AUD82.6b which is down around $40b form this current year and at the low end of estimates ad the first estimate for non-mining capex for the same period is at 48b which is also weak.
In the US session
Durable Goods Orders and
Unemployment Claims figures were published. Orders for U.S. capital goods rebounded in January by the most since June 2014, representing a pause in manufacturing’s downturn. Bookings for non-military equipment excluding commercial aircraft jumped 3.9%, more than forecast, after a 3.7% decrease in December that was smaller than previously reported, data from the Commerce Department showed Thursday.
Orders for all durable goods rose 4.9%, the most since March. Analysts were anticipating 3.0% increase.
In the week ending February 20, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 272,000, an increase of 10,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 262,000, in line with market forecasts. The 4-week moving average was 272,000, a decrease of 1,250 from the previous week's unrevised average of 273,250.
There will be no major data release from Australia tomorrow. In the US session GDP and Revised Consumer Confidence figures will be released. Analysts predict increase to by 0.4% in GDP, while Revised Consumer Confidence should show slight incline from Prelim reading to 91.1.
Figures to watch:
Prelim GDP (Friday 14:30)
Revised UoM Consumer Sentiment (Friday 16:00)
