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Market Overview

Yen and Franc Mildly Lower in Consolidation, More Upside Still in Favor

The forex markets are generally steady in Asian session today. Risk sentiments firmed up mildly in Asia with gains seen in major indices. In particular, China's Shanghai SSE is back above 2900 handle with around 0.9% gain. The moves are reflect in strength in Australian, New Zealand and Canadian...

Dollar Rebounds after Trump Warns of Very Substantial Tariffs on China

After some initial weakness, Dollar surges broadly today after Trump admitted that he's not ready to make a deal with China yet. That overturned his repeated comments that a deal could happen soon. Instead, Trump opts for more verbal threats and warned tariffs could go up very substantially and...

Treasury Yield in Free Fall, But the Worst in the Markets are Yet to Come

Sterling was the weakest one last week as it suffered persistent selloff ahead of UK Prime Minister Theresa May's announcement on resignation. The Pound has indeed stabilized since then after the speculation was realized. Without May, the Brexit path ahead becomes even more uncertain. The key lies on who...

Pound Softer after May’s Resignation, Loss Limited Though

News from the UK catch most headline today as, finally, Prime Minister Theresa May announced to resign. Pound's reaction is generally softer but selloff is so far limited. Sterling has been under much selling pressure up to today's announcement and thus, the decision was well priced in. Now, the...

Dollar Rally Faltered on Free Fall in Treasury Yields, Trade War Drags Sentiments

Dollar's rally attempt faltered overnight as dragged down by steep decline in treasury yields. Dollar index did hit new high at 98.37 but closed sharply lower at 97.85. 10-year yield dropped -0.097 to close at 2.296, just inch above day low at 2.294. Concerns over prolonged US-China trade war...

Risk Off on Trade War Escalations and Eurozone Slowdown, EUR/USD to Break 1.1111 soon

Global markets are back is heavy risk-off mode today as US-China tensions keep on escalating. Words from both sides suggest that neither one is going to back down from the current stance and there is no chance of returning to the table any time soon. More importantly, it's seems...

Trade Concerns Drag Down Asian Markets Again, Yen and Franc Lifted

Swiss Franc and Yen firm up again in Asian session as markets are gradually convinced that a full-blown US-China trade war is underway. Tensions between the two countries have clearly worsened after trade negotiation collapsed weeks ago. And it's clearly not just about trade but a broad range of...

Canadian Dollar Jumps on Retail Sales, Sterling Lower on Brexit, FOMC Minutes Next

US stocks open slightly lower today while major European indices are trading in red. But it's too early to say if risk aversion in back. US-China trade war is the biggest risks to the global economy and there is no end insight. Instead, it's reported that US is going...

Markets Mixed as Brexit and Trade War Remain Unresolved

Direction isn't very clear in the financial markets today as they're generally in consolidative mode. Sterling was lifted briefly overnight by UK Prime Minister Theresa May's new Brexit plan. But it was quickly back to square one after the plan was overwhelmingly rejected by MPs. For now, Canadian Dollar...

Yen Lower as Investors Relieved by Suspension of Huawei Ban, Sterling Higher on Short Covering

Risk aversion eased mildly today as markets respond positive to US decision to delay the sanctions of Huawei for 90 days. After some initial hesitation, Yen sell-off is picking up momentum in early US session, because of rally in stocks and treasury yields. On the other hand, Sterling is...

Australian Dollar Tumbles as RBA Hints on Rate Cut; Huawei Sanctions Temporarily Eased

Australian Dollar continues to be the spotlight of the week. It's knocked down by RBA Governor's comment that they's going to consider cutting interest rates in June meeting. It's actually slightly earlier than market expectations of an August cut. The selloff is more than enough to reverse post election...

US-China Trade War Intensifies with Huawei Isolation, Currency Markets Shrug Risk Aversion

US-China trade war remains a dominant theme in the global financial markets today. Words from both sides continued to indicate hard line stances. It doesn't quite matter how much close to facts are their rhetorics. What matters most is that neither the US or China is going to back...

Australian Dollar Cheers Election Results, Euro and Franc Turn Softer

Australian Dollar open generally higher this week as traders cheer election results over the weekend. Canadian Dollar is also firm after USMCA members reached an agreement to remove steel tariffs and retaliations. Risks sentiments are steady in mixed Asian markets. Nikkei closed mildly higher following much stronger than expected...

CHF, USD & JPY Surged on Deals, Sterling Plummeted

Deal, deal, deals. They're the main themes in the markets last week. The cross-party Brexit talks in UK collapsed and a high profile Brexiteer is tipped to lead the Brexit process after current Prime Minister steps down. Tensions between US and China escalated further. A trade deal is now...

Sterling Pressured as Cross-Party Brexit Talks Collapsed, Sentiments also Weighed Down by Trade Worries

Sterling suffers heavy selling today as after Brexit negotiations between the UK government and opposition Labour formally collapsed. More uncertainties lie ahead as Prime Minister Theresa May will lay our the time line for stepping down, whether her Brexit deal would be approved by the Commons in June or...

Yen Mildly Higher as China Said to be Unkeen to Resume Trade Talks with US

Asian markets once again decouple from the US. While US stocks staged a strong rebound overnight, Asian indices are generally mixed. Weakness is indeed seen in China's Shanghai SSE while Yuan resumes recent free fall. There is some negative reaction to report that China is not eager to resume...

Sterling Extends Decline, Markets Shrug Trumps Huawei Threats

Market sentiments are generally steady today. Better than expected job and housing data lift Dollar mildly higher in early US session. Yen and Swiss Franc are trading of the softer side, paring some of this week's gains. While US moves to contain Huawei catch a lot of headlines, there...

Yen Firm as Risk Aversion Remains, Australian Dollar Lower on Unemployment Rate

US stocks recovered overnight on talks that Trump is going to delay auto tariffs decision, due May 18, by up to 6-months. All major stock indices staged mild recovery. German DAX also reversed earlier losses to close higher. However, such optimism wasn't carried through to Asian session today. In...

Yen and Franc Surge as German Yield in Free Fall on Italy Budget

Worries over Italy's budget takes center stage today. Italy 10-year yield hit as high as 2.812. On the other hand, German 10-year yield dived to as low as -0.131. US 10-year yield is also dragged down to as low as 2.364 so far. These are clearly signs of risk...

Australian Dollar Tumbles on Wage Growth Miss, China Data Point to More Slowdown

After some initial hesitation, Asian markets picked up some momentum and strengthen broadly, recovering some of this week's losses. Though, strength is so far limited with lots of uncertainty ahead. It's a fact that US-China trade war is dragging on for longer despite Trump's "positive" words. At the same...