Quick Overview

• There is fresh speculation that China may use the impending Golden Week holidays in the region to ease the renminbi’s peg against the dollar.
  
  
• The University of Michigan's final consumer sentiment index for April dropped to 87.7, the third straight monthly decline and the lowest level since September 2003

• The National Association of Purchasing Management's index of Chicago business activity dropped from 69.2 to 65.6 in April.

• The Labor Department announced that the employment cost index, moderated in the first quarter to a 0.7% increase, down from a 0.8% gain in the last three months of 2004.

• Consumer prices rose 0.5% in March, the largest increase in 15 years. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, however, the core rate of inflation - measured by the personal consumption expenditure price index - increased 0.3%.

• Personal income rose 0.5% in March, versus the 0.4% economists had predicted. Consumer spending, rose 0.6%, versus 0.5% expected.
  

• Canada's GDP increased 0.3% in February and 3.6% YoY.