Focus on faceoff between Trump and North Korea Markets continued to react Wednesday to the faceoff between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korea. Before the close Tuesday on Wall Street, President Trump’s remarks that North Korea would face "fire and fury like the world has never seen" hit U.S. stocks. North Korea did not take the “warning” lying down and,...
There are no major Australian economic reports scheduled for release next week but the New Zealand dollar will be in focus with the Reserve Bank’s Quarterly monetary policy announcement on the calendar. The RBNZ is widely expected to leave rates unchanged but the recent trend of softer data suggests that the central bank could be less hawkish. When the central...
The Reserve Bank of Australia hasn’t been shy about expressing their concerns about the strong currency, which poses significant risks for the currency at a time when the U.S. dollar is rebounding and commodity currencies are losing momentum. Although this week’s Australian economic reports were mostly better than expected with retail sales, building approvals,...
U.S. payrolls increase more than expected, wages rise U.S. employers hired more workers than expected in July and raised their wages, signs of labor market tightness that likely clears the way for the Federal Reserve to announce next month a plan to start shrinking its massive bond portfolio. The Labor Department said that nonfarm payrolls increased by 209,000...
This now via Barclays: NFP: We look for headline July nonfarm payrolls to increase 175k; private payrolls to rise 170k; and the unemployment rate to decline one-tenth to 4.3%, reversing last month's rise. We expect average weekly hours to hold steady at 34.5 and average hourly earnings to rise 0.3% m/m (2.4% y/y). The May and June employment reports were...
Brexit - expecting smooth transition 6-2 for unchanged rates & 8-0 for unchanged QE at GBP435B TFS to be discontinued end of Feb 2018 (8-0) MPC now expect two rather than one hike over forecast horizon Currency depreciation effect seen having continued upward influence on inflation Household consumption could be higher than assumed in May Report Global economic...
With all of these big events on the calendar, the euro could end up taking a backseat. While the latest Eurozone economic reports were mixed (the PMIs were down but German IFO increased), the currency is supported by the European Central Bank’s hawkishness. In the coming week, Eurozone inflation, GDP and retail sales numbers are scheduled for release. Traders...
Sterling will be big focus this coming week with July PMIs, the Bank of England’s monetary policy announcement and Quarterly Inflation Report scheduled for release. The BoE meeting will be particularly important as data has been at odds with the central bank’s guidance. When they last met in June, the market was surprised that 3 members voted for an immediate rate...
After 4 weeks of persistent strength, the Canadian dollar continued to extend its gains against the U.S. dollar. On Thursday it seemed as if a bottom could be in place for USD/CAD but stronger than expected GDP growth in the month of May renewed the uptrend. The economy expanded by 0.6%, 3 times more than expected. This acceleration drove the year over year rate...
Whether that happens or not should hinge on upcoming economic reports and rate decision but we’ve seen how AUD and NZD can defy fundamentals in favor of carry. For example it wasn’t until the U.S. dollar rebounded on Thursday did AUD/USD and NZD/USD finally peak. Weaker consumer price growth in Australia and cautious comments from Reserve Bank Governor Lowe failed...
The dollar fell on Wednesday, touching its lowest level in more than a year against a basket of currencies after the release of the Federal Reserve's policy statement following its July meeting. The Federal Open Market Committee announced no changes to monetary policy, as expected. Policymakers said, however, that the U.S. central bank would begin implementing...
The dollar edged higher on Wednesday, rising from a 13-month low hit in the previous session as investors trimmed some short bets before a Federal Reserve policy decision. Markets have reduced expectations for a U.S. interest rate increase in the coming months with expectations of another rate hike at less than 50 percent before the end of the year. If there is...
The U.S. dollar hit its lowest level in more than a year against a basket of major rivals on Friday a day after the European Central Bank's chief abstained from talking down the euro, while obstacles to U.S. President Donald Trump's policy agenda also weighed. Compounding the (weaker dollar) move is this latest news on the political front in the U.S. about the...
Sterling steadied on Friday but was on track to record its worst week against the euro in nine months, with the single currency rallying across the board on bets that the European Central Bank was on track to tighten monetary policy next year. The stagflation warning signs are flashing for the UK economy after this week's data, while any 'soft' Brexit euphoria...
The ECB is staying on the dovish side and does not seem to be in a hurry to move towards tapering The European Central Bank has kept in place a pledge to step up its €60bn-a-month quantitative easing programme if the eurozone economy worsens, despite calls from the bank’s hawks to scrap the commitment because of improving growth in the region. The ECB’s...
Sterling dipped back below $1.30 on Thursday on concern UK ministers are prepared to walk away from Brexit talks without a deal. The mood outweighed a slightly better-than-expected batch of retail sales numbers. Sunny weather helped sales rise more strongly than expected in June and shake off a gloomier start to the year, offering some signs that the economy as...
The euro is slipping back from its highest levels against the dollar since May 2016 ahead of Thursday’s monetary policy, when investors will be on close watch for any signs about Mr Draghi’s thinking on the timing of policy normalisation. The shared currency is down 0.2 per cent at $1.1528, while the dollar finds broader support after its sharp slide on Tuesday,...
Healthcare setback fuels wider concerns over Trump plans Dollar index hits 10-month low S&P 500 little changed, Nasdaq closes at record Oil prices rise amid talk of Saudi export cuts Australian dollar lifted by minutes of RBA meeting The U.S. dollar hovered near a 10-month low against a basket of currencies on Wednesday but investors were wary of pushing it...