Foreign Exchange Market Update

August 4, 2026

United States

A report released by the Commerce Department on Tuesday showed a decrease in new orders for U.S. manufactured goods in June. The Commerce Department said factory orders fell by 0.3% in June after tumbling by 1.1% in May. The dip in factory orders came amid a sharp pullback in new orders for non-durable goods, which dove by 1.2% in June after surging by 2.2% in May.

Meanwhile, the report showed a rebound in new orders for durable goods, which climbed by 0.5% in June after plunging by 4.0% in May. The Commerce Department also said shipments of manufactured goods edged down by 0.2% in June after jumping by 1.6% in May. Inventories of manufactured goods crept up by 0.1% in June after rising by 0.2% in May. With inventories increasing and shipments falling, the inventories-to-shipments ratio ticked up from 1.47 in May to 1.48 in June. 08/04/2026 - 10:53:00 (RTTNews)

The Labor Department released a report on Tuesday showing a decrease in job openings in the U.S. in June. The report said job openings dipped from 7.537 million in May to 7.359 million in June. The Labor Department also said hires increased from 5.252 million in May to 5.348 million in June, while total separations rose from 5.260 million in May to 5.351 million in June. 08/04/2026 - 10:38:00 (RTTNews)

Eurozone

Euros traded at 1.1517 against USD at 9:00 AM PST

Spain's unemployment increased in July, but the overall number of unemployed people remained the lowest for the month since 2007. The number of unemployed increased by 19,517 in July from the previous month. Registered unemployment totaled 2.31 million, the lowest for July since 2007. Compared to last year, unemployment decreased by 93,107 or 3.87% in July.

Registered unemployment rose by 8,221 in the service sector and by 2,433 in construction. Unemployment grew by 473 in industry and by 122 in the farm sector. Unemployment among young people aged below 25 fell by 238 in July compared to the previous month. Unemployment totaled 159,562, the lowest figure in the historical record. 08/04/2026 - 06:17:00 (RTTNews)

Italy's retail sales decreased in June amid a fall in demand for food products. The sales value dropped by 0.1% monthly in June, following a 0.2% increase in May. Sales of food products contracted 0.4% monthly in June, while those of non-food products increased at a stable rate of 0.2%.

Regarding non-food items, the largest increase was recorded for household appliances, radios, televisions, and tape recorders, which grew 14.2%. Yearly, retail sales growth improved to 3.1% in June from 2.2% in the prior month, driven exclusively by large-scale retail trade and especially by e-commerce. 08/04/2026 - 05:27:00 (RTTNews)

Hong Kong Retail Sales Growth Eases to 10-month Low

Hong Kong's retail sales growth moderated further in June to the lowest level in nearly a year. The value of retail sales rose 4.6% year-on-year in June, slower than the 7.9% growth in May. Moreover, this was the weakest growth since August 2025, when sales rose 3.9%. The annual sales growth in consumer durable goods eased to 5.4% from a 9.1% surge in the prior month.

Sales of jewelry, watches and clocks, and valuable gifts grew strongly but at a slower pace of 20.1% versus 26.0% in May. Demand for food, alcoholic beverages, and tobacco rebounded by 2.5%. On the other hand, sales at supermarkets logged a renewed fall of 1.1%. Fuel sales continued to decline sharply by 15.3%. Sales at department stores were 4.2% lower. The volume of retail sales climbed 2.3% yearly in June, though the growth moderated further from 4.8% in May. 08/04/2026 - 05:56:00 (RTTNews)