Foreign Exchange Market Update

November 5, 2026

United States

With the release of the more closely watched monthly jobs report looming on Friday, the Labor Department released a report on Thursday showing a decline in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ending on October 31st. The Labor Department said initial jobless claims fell to 189,000, a decrease of 6,000 from the previous week's level of 195,000. With the dip, jobless claims matched the multi-decade low of 189,000 set in the week ending on July 18th.

The report said the less volatile four-week moving average also slipped to 194,750, a decrease of 2,250 from the previous week's average of 197,000. Meanwhile, the Labor Department said continuing claims, a reading on the number of people receiving ongoing unemployment assistance, rose by 23,000 to 1.718 million in the week ending on October 24th. The four-week moving average of continuing claims also inched up to 1,709,500, an increase of 1,000 from the previous week's average of 1,708,500. 11/05/2026 - 09:54:00 (RTTNews)

Labor productivity in the U.S. surged in the third quarter of 2026, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday. The Labor Department said labor productivity spiked by 3.6% in the third quarter after jumping by 2.1% in the second quarter. Meanwhile, the report said unit labor costs fell by 0.7% in the third quarter after surging by 1.9% in the second quarter. 11/05/2026 - 08:40:00 (RTTNews)

Eurozone

Euro traded at 1.1229 against USD at 9:00 AM PST

Producer price inflation in the Eurozone accelerated further in September to the highest level in just over three-and-a-half years amid soaring energy costs. Producer prices surged 11.1% yearly in September, faster than the 8.3% rise in August. Moreover, this was the highest rate since February 2023, when prices rose 12.7%. Within producer prices, energy prices showed the biggest growth in September, up 30.0% from last year.

Prices of intermediate goods increased 7.1%, and capital goods prices moved up 2.7%. Prices of durable consumer goods rose 3.4%, while non-durable consumer goods prices fell 0.6%. Excluding energy, producer prices rose 3.5% after rising 3.4% in the previous month. Monthly, producer prices grew 2.5% and were faster than the 2.0% rise posted in August. Producer prices in the EU climbed 2.6% monthly and advanced 10.9% from the previous year. 11/05/2026 - 06:46:00 (RTTNews)

Germany's construction activity contracted the most since early 2025 in October. The construction Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) fell from 43.5 in September to 41.6 in October. The latest score was the lowest since March 2025. The main driver was the housing sector, which contracted at a rapid pace. Work on commercial building projects fell sharply, marking the steepest fall since July. At the same time, civil engineering registered the softest decrease. The downturn in activity coincided with a further intensification of cost pressures.

New orders fell at the fastest pace in six months. Further, headwinds to demand and concerns over high long-term interest rates weighed on firms' expectations for activity in the coming year. Employment continued to fall in October, but the pace of job shedding eased to the weakest since June. Purchasing activity fell more slowly in October, and lead times on purchases lengthened the most in four months. Input price inflation hit its highest in June, and subcontractor rates were the second sharpest in almost four years. 11/05/2026 - 05:28:00 (RTTNews)

France's manufacturing output growth improved in September, driven by the sharp upturn in auto production, but overall industrial production declined. Manufacturing output increased by 0.5% month-on-month, following a 0.3% rise in August. Meanwhile, industrial production dropped 0.5%, faster than the 0.4% decline seen in the previous month. Output bounced back in transport equipment manufacturing by 2.7% due to the sharp upturn in motor vehicles manufacturing. Output increased again in the manufacture of electrical, electronic, and computer equipment by 2.6%, where it reached its highest level since November 2023.

Output advanced in the food and beverage industries by 1.0% and increased again in the manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products by 6.0%. In mining and quarrying, energy, and water supply, output decreased 3.8% after a 2.8% fall, returning to its April 2026 level. Further, construction output fell 0.2%, in contrast to the 0.7% increase in August. Although manufacturing output rose for the second month straight, output is still below last year's level, and construction is firmly in recession. With this, industry can only soften, not reverse, the economy's stagnation. 11/05/2026 - 05:49:00 (RTTNews)

Italy's retail sales increased for the second month straight in September, though slightly. The sales value rose 0.1% month-on-month in September, slower than the 0.3% rebound in August. Non-food product sales grew 0.3% month-on-month in September. Meanwhile, food product sales remained flat after recovering 0.7% in the prior month. Regarding non-food items, the largest increase was seen in IT, telecommunications, and telephone equipment, which advanced 5.7%. On a yearly basis, retail sales growth accelerated from 0.5% to 1.6%. 11/05/2026 - 05:49:00 (RTTNews)

Bank of England Lifts Interest Rate to 4%, First Hike in Over 3 Years

British Pound traded at 1.3476 against USD at 9:00 AM PST

The United Kingdom's central bank raised its key interest rate on Thursday for the first time since 2023 to cushion the future impact of the second-round effects of high energy prices and warned that more hikes would be necessary if the Middle East conflict does not resolve quickly. The Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England, led by Governor Andrew Bailey, raised the bank rate by 25 basis points to 4.00%. The decision was taken by a split vote of 8-1, as policymaker Catherine Mann was in favor of a bigger 50 basis points hike to 4.25%. The previous hike in the bank rate was 25 basis points to 5.25% in August 2023.

"There is now enough inflationary pressure in the pipeline caused by the rise in energy prices that an increase in Bank Rate is warranted," BoE Governor Bailey said. "Today's increase shouldn't be seen as the first in an inevitable long sequence of hikes," Bailey said. "But, unless the conflict in the Middle East is resolved, neither does it seem likely to be the last increase." Policymakers will assess the outlook at each meeting and respond as necessary to bring inflation sustainably back to the 2% target, the BoE chief added. 11/05/2026 - 07:55:00 (RTTNews)