Ella 
The dollar weakened on Friday after the University of Michigan released its 5-year consumer inflation forecast for May. The reading edged back to 3.0%, missing expectations of 3.1%. Although the consumer confidence index was revised up to 69.1 from the preliminary reading of 67.4, it still hit its lowest level in six months. The data could help bolster investor expectations that the Federal Reserve may cut interest rates.
The probability of the Fed delivering a quarter-point rate cut in September has fallen to 44.9% from 49.0% a week ago, according to the CME FedWatch tool. It’s worth noting that U.S. markets will be closed due to the Memorial Day bank holiday on Monday.
Australia’s ASX 200 index rose above 7770 points on Monday, with almost all sectors recovering losses from the previous week. Australian shares also tracked Wall Street’s gains on Friday as risk appetite improved.
Durable goods orders recovered solidly in April, rising 0.7% month-over-month, compared with expectations for a 0.8% decline, data from the U.S. Census Bureau on Friday showed. However, the March figure was revised down to 0.8% from an initial estimate of 2.6%.
On Thursday, Australian consumers’ inflation expectations for the next 12 months fell to 4.1% in May from 4.6% in April, hitting the lowest level since October 2021.
The S&P Global U.S. Composite Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) surged to 54.4 in May, the highest level since April 2022. The services PMI rose to 54.8, showing the largest output growth in a year, while the manufacturing PMI rose to 50.9.
