May has been the month for USD to gain vs EUR

•     May has been the month for USD to gain vs EUR

–    €/$ has fallen in 8 of the last 10 Mays; average move is the biggest of any month

–    Past performance is no guarantee of future performance though!

•     China HSBC PMI revised down; adds to RBA worries

–    Further signs of a slowdown in China ahead of tomorrow’s RBA meeting

•     Today:

–    Eurozone: Final manufacturing PMI figures for Eurozone

–    US: Factory orders for March are expected to accelerate

–    Speakers:  Chicago Fed President Evans, SF Fed President Williams (spoke Friday)

•     This week:

–    Tuesday: RBA meeting expected to cut rates

–    Wednesday:  ADP report expected to show US added 200k jobs; ECB weekly meeting to discuss raising the haircut on ELA loans to Greece

–    Thursday: UK elections show no clear winner; coalition or minority government is almost a certainty. We expect Norges Bank to keep rates steady, NOK to gain

–    Friday:  US nonfarm payrolls expected to rise 230k, recovering the 200k level after the unexpectedly low March reading. Would be USD-bullish.

–    All week:  Japan’s “Golden Week” holiday to thin JPY liquidity