UK CPI Could Trigger Sterling Bulls and BoE Hawks
Sterling remains the strongest one as markets is now preparing for inflation data from UK today. The progress in Brexit negotiation removed one key obstacle for BoE to hike again in May. And CPI data will be a key factor for MPC's consideration. Hence, any upside surprise would likely...
Sterling Shines as UK and EU Agreed on Brexit Transition Deal
Sterling soars today on news that EU and UK has finally agreed on the Brexit transition deal. The pound is now set to take on 1.4144 resistance against dollar and 0.8686 against Euro. While notable weakness is seen in Euro against Sterling, it's actually performing quite well elsewhere. The...
Trade War a Major Theme in Busy Week of Central Banks, Data and Politics
The week open relatively quietly again with Swiss Franc leading the way down, followed by Aussie and Kiwi. Dollar strengthens broadly but it's again out shone by Japanese Yen. Asian markets are mixed with Nikkei trading down -0.8% at the time of writing. But HK HSI, China SSE are...
CAD, AUD, NZD All Suffered as Trump Stepping on Protectionist Acceleration Pedal
Yen maintained solid strength throughout last week as it ended as the strongest one. Meanwhile, the fortunes of commodity currencies suddenly reversed towards the end. Canadian, Australian and New Zealand Dollar ended as the three weakest ones. Some blamed the selloff in commodity currencies to Dollar's strength. But the...
Safe Haven Theme Dominates, Yen Strong, Commodity Currencies Weak
Safe haven flows remain the main theme in the forex markets today even though global equities are rather resilient. Yen and to a lesser extend Swiss Franc are trading generally higher. Meanwhile, commodity currencies, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand Dollars suffer most. Fresh selling is indeed seen in early...
AUD, NZD, CAD Weaken on Fear of Rising Protectionism
Commodity currencies, including Canadian, Australian and New Zealand Dollar are suffering steep selling towards the end of the week. New White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow's strong Dollar comment was seen by some as a factor, as he urged TV interview viewers to "buy King Dollar and sell gold"....
Dollar Mildly Higher after Solid Data but Upside Limited, Franc Shrugs off SNB
Dollar strengthens mildly in early US session after some solid economic data. But gain for the greenback is so far limited. While Dollar follow Yen as the second strongest major currency for today, it's still down again all but Aussie and Loonie for the week. US President Donald Trump...
SNB Warned Of Franc Appreciation Against US Dollar, Kept Commitment To Intervene
As widely anticipated, the SNB kept the sight deposit rate unchanged at -0.75%, while the target range for the three-month Libor stayed at between –1.25% and –0.25%. Again, the SNB maintained the commitment to intervene the FX market when needed, reiterating that it would 'remain active in the foreign...
Trade War Theme Dominates Markets, Dollar Stays Weak
Trade war continued to be the main theme in the financial markets. In particular, investors are getting increasing concerned with the reported USD 40b tariffs on Chinese goods by the US. DOW closed -1.0% lower overnight to 24758.12. S&P 500 was down -0.57% while NASDAQ lost -0.19%. In particular,...
China’s February Economic Data Beat Expectations
China's economic data beat expectations in February. Headline CPI improved to +29% y/y, beating expectations of +2.5%, from January's +1.5%. On the economic activity barometers, industrial production grew +7.2% y/y in February, exceeding expectations of +6.3% and January's +6.2%. Urban fixed asset investments expanded +7.9% y/y in the first...
Dollar Tumbles as Trump Preparing for Full Blown Trade War with China
Global markets tumbled on concern that US President Donald Trump is finally starting the steps towards a full blown trade war with China. DOW ended down -0.68%, or -171.58 pts at 25007.03. S&P 500 also lost -0.64%, or -17.71 pts to 2765.31. NASDAQ, which reached a new record high...
Dollar Selloff Restarts as CPI Just Met Expectation, Trump Fired Tillerson
Dollar suffers broad based selling in early US session as in-line with expectation CPI data is a relieve to market participants. Additional, the greenback is weighed down by political turmoil in the White House. Headline CPI accelerated to 2.2% yoy in February, up from 2.1% yoy and met expectation....
Forex Markets Indecisive, US CPI Awaited
Movements in the forex markets are not too decisive for the moment. Sterling made a bull run yesterday but there was no follow through buying. GBP/JPY is staying below 1.3929 near term resistance despite the rally attempt. GBP/JP's recovery since last week's low at 144.97 is also looking corrective....
Sterling Soars as UK Reported to be Close to Brexit Transition Deal
Sterling jumps broadly after Reuters reported that UK Junior Brexit Minister Robin Walker said it's very close to transition deal with the EU. But so far, no detail is reported yet. Meanwhile, Australian Dollar remains one of the strongest one today, together with the Japanese yen. Canadian Dollar is...
Australian Dollar Lifted by Risk Appetite and Steel Tariff Exemption
Australian Dollar and New Zealand Dollar jump broadly as another week starts in full risk-on mode. Japanese Nikkei opened sharply higher and is trading up 1.4% at the time of writing. Hong Kong HSI is also up close to 1.5%. That followed the strong 1.77% rise in DOW on...
Stocks Survived Trump’s Tariffs, Boosted by Perfect NFP, Commodity Currencies Came Back
The stock markets in the US ended the week up solidly as boosted by the "perfect" job report as seen by investors. Worries over trade wars also receded as US President Donald Trump has backed down on his steel and aluminum tariff even on the day of its arrival....
Dollar Fails to Ride on Stellar 313k NFP Growth, Sluggish Wage Drags
Despite stellar report of job growth, Dollar fails to secure upside momentum so far due to sluggish wage growth. Non-farm payrolls report showed 313k growth in February, much better than expectation of 205k. Prior month's figure was also revised up from 200k to 239k. Unemployment rate was unchanged at...
Dollar Survived Event Risks, Strong as Focus Turns to Non-Farm Payrolls
The greenback emerged as a winner after most of the the event risks this week and is staying firm in Asian session. In particular, Euro's selloff after just slightly less dovish than expected ECB provides much support to the Dollar. And the greenback paid little reaction while US President...
ECB Surprisingly Removed Easing Bias, Draghi Downplayed The Implication On Future Policy
Surprising to most market participants, ECB dropped the easing bias in the forward guidance. While this had initially sent the euro slightly higher, it reversed as President Mario Draghi reinforced that the act was 'backward looking' and would not affect future monetary decision making. Policymakers remained confident over the...
Euro Struggles to Gain as ECB Draghi Talks Down Even Tiny Step of Exit
Euro is initially short up as ECB turned a bit less dovish in the statement after keeping monetary policy unchanged. However, the common currency cannot extend gains as there is no follow through buying. More importantly, ECB President Mario Draghi tries to tone down the significance of the change...