Ella 
Here’s what you need to know on Tuesday (August 15):
Investors remained cautious Tuesday as they assessed the latest headlines and data from China. Germany and the euro zone are to publish the ZEW business climate index. In the second half of the day, US July retail sales and Canadian July consumer price index will be closely watched by market participants. The U.S. will also release the New York Fed manufacturing survey and June business inventories.
During the Asian session, data from China showed that retail sales rose 2.5% year-on-year in July, compared to 3.1% in the previous reading and well below market expectations of 4%. Other data showed industrial production rose 3.7 percent over the same period, compared with analysts’ expectations for a 4.5 percent increase. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) unexpectedly cut the one-year medium-term lending facility (MLF) rate to 2.50% from 2.65%. Some experts believe the decision opens the door for a possible cut in China’s benchmark lending rate (LPR) next week.
After falling more than 1% in early trade, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng pared some of its losses on the day to end the day down 0.7%. Meanwhile, U.S. stock futures were marginally higher on the day and the U.S. dollar index consolidated Monday’s gains around 103.00.
AUD/USD and NZD/USD opened lower on disappointing Chinese data, but managed to bounce back after the PBOC decision. AUD/USD is currently trading marginally higher around 0.6500, while NZD/USD is steady around 0.5980.
Earlier in the day, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported that the ILO unemployment rate rose to 4.2% from 4% in the three months to June. The employment change came in at -66,000, well below consensus expectations of +75,000. Other details in the jobs report showed that wage inflation, as measured by changes in average earnings that include bonuses, climbed to 8.2% from 7.2% over the same period. The GBP/USD reaction to these data was relatively muted, with the pair last seen in positive territory just above 1.2700.
