Foreign Exchange Market Update

October 22, 2026

United States Jobless Claims Drop to Three-Month Low

According to a report the Labor Department released Thursday, first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits fell in the week ending on October 17. The report said initial jobless claims fell to 194,000, down 6,000 from the previous week's 200,000. With the dip, jobless claims dropped to their lowest since hitting a multi-decade low of 189,000 in the week ending on July 18th.

The Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average also edged down to 197,750, down 1,000 from the previous week's average of 198,750. Meanwhile, the report said continuing claims, a reading on the number of people receiving ongoing unemployment benefits, climbed by 25,000 to 1.728 million in the week ending on October 10th. The four-week moving average of continuing claims also rose to 1,711,000, an increase of 4,000 from the previous week's average of 1,707,000. 10/22/2026 - 09:18:00 (RTTNews)

French Manufacturing Sentiment Highest Since Mid-2022

Euro traded at 1.1207 against USD at 9:00 AM PST

French manufacturing confidence rose to its highest level since July 2022, driven by robust improvements in global and foreign order book assessments. The manufacturing sentiment index climbed from 101 in the previous month to 105 in October. The score reached its highest since July 2022. The balance of opinion associated with personal production prospects increased for the third consecutive month in October to 19, marking the highest level since February 2022. The change in past production climbed again from -1 to +2 but remained below its average.

At the same time, the general production prospects index improved for the sixth consecutive month in October, with the balance rising from -9 to -8. The indicator relating to economic uncertainty felt by business leaders rose sharply and returned to levels close to those observed in April and May. The October score was 36. The indicator measuring the level of global order books rebounded from -16 to -11. Similarly, the one associated with the level of foreign order books climbed from -10 to -1 and reached its highest level since April 2022. However, the index for the current level of finished goods inventories dropped from 13 to 9.

Further, opinion relating to the evolution of workforce size, both past and expected, rebounded slightly in October, to -4 and -1. The broader business climate across manufacturing, construction, services, retail, and wholesale trade improved only marginally from 96 in September to 97. 10/22/2026 - 05:57:00 (RTTNews)

Hong Kong Inflation Rises to 1.9%

Hong Kong's consumer price inflation accelerated in September. The consumer price index (CPI) climbed 1.9% year-over-year in September, faster than the 1.7% stable increase in August. The rise in inflation was mainly due to the accelerated increases in inbound and outbound transport fares and the charges for package holidays. Netting out the effects of all governments' one-off relief measures, the underlying inflation rate also increased from 1.9% to 2.1%, largely driven by faster price increases in fuel-related items.

Inflation based on utilities quickened from 11.5% to 12.9%, and transport charges grew at a faster pace of 5.2% versus a 3.9% rise in August. Housing costs were 0.2% higher, while food inflation eased marginally from 0.6% to 0.5%. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the average monthly rate of change in the Composite CPI for the 3 months ending in September was 0.2%. 10/22/2026 - 08:26:00 (RTTNews)