Australian Dollar Higher on ScoMo Win, Powell in Jackson Hole Watched
Australia Dollar recovers broadly today as markets cheered Scott Morrison's win in the Liberal Party's leadership challenge. But upside is so far limited. New Zealand Dollar is trading as the second strongest one for today so far, followed by Dollar. On the other hand, Yen is under broad based...
Dollar Rebound in Progress But Momentum Weak, Aussie Selloff Extends
Dollar is still trading as the strongest for today even though the rebound looks a bit unconvincing. In particular, the greenback is effectively just range bound against against European majors. And in fact, it's taking turn to be the strongest with Swiss Franc. Meanwhile, Australian Dollar remains the weakest...
Australian Dollar Plunges on Political Turmoil, Dollar Higher as Tariffs on China Kicks In
Political turmoil in Australia takes the headline over from the US as the Aussie dives broadly today. While two former aides of Trump are likely going to jail soon, special prosecutor Robert Mueller's investigation will take long to complete. However, Australia could have the seventh Prime Minister in a...
FOMC to Continue Rate Hike Despite Trump’s Criticism
The minutes for the July FOMC meeting affirmed that the policy rate is prone to increase in September, notwithstanding Trump’s pressure. The members remained upbeat over the economic growth outlook but warned on downside risk due to intensifying trade tensions. They acknowledged the need to amend the language to...
Dollar Selloff Intensifies on Trump, Euro and Swiss Franc Surge
Dollar suffers fresh selling entering into US session, in particular against Euro and Swiss Franc. Two former aides of Trump, campaign manager Paul Manafort and personal lawyer Michael Cohen are found guilty on a range of charges. More importantly, Cohen's attorney Lanny Davis said in a statement that Cohen...
Sterling Lifted by Positive Brexit Meeting, Yen Weak as S&P 500 Hit Record
Dollar and Yen remains the weakest one for the week. While sell-off slows a little bit in Asian session, there is no sign of bottoming yet. Dollar is apparently still weighed down by Trump's comments on Fed policy. On the other hand, Yen is pressured by solid risk appetite....
Dollar Stabilizes Mildly as Selling Focus Turns to Yen
Dollar and Yen are pressured by all other major currencies throughout the day. The greenback continues to be weighed down by Trump's attack on Fed, and Jerome Powell personally, regarding rate hikes. Nonetheless, the greenback is showing a little sign of stabilization and sell focus turns to Yen. At...
RBA Too Early to be Confident over Consumer Spending
The RBA minutes of the August meeting contained little news, in particular after release of the quarterly Statement of Monetary Policy two weeks ago and Governor Philip Lowe’s parliamentary testimony last week. The minutes reiterated confidence over domestic economic development, hinging on the robust employment market. We also notice...
Jackson Hole Symposium Preview: Two Questions on Fed’s Monetary Policy
While it is not a practice for Fed chairs to offer hints on the monetary policy outlook at the annual Jackson Hole symposium, their speeches at the event have always caught market attentions and sometimes move the market. At the upcoming meeting on August 23-28, Fed Chair Jerome Powell...
Dollar Sold Off on Trump’s Personal Attack on Fed Chair Powell
Dollar weakens broadly overnight on Trump's attack on Fed's policy. It started after Bloomberg reported that Trump lamented Fed chair Jerome Powell for not being the "cheap-money" chair he expected. Then Trump reiterated his comments that he's "not thrilled" with interest rate hikes in Reuters interview. But this time,...
Sterling Mildly Higher But Markets Stay in Overall Consolidative Mode
The forex markets are staying in quiet consolidative mode today. Sterling trades generally higher and is the strongest one for the time of writing. But the momentum is nothing more than that we see inside corrective trading. That is, rather weak, without follow through. Swiss Franc follows as the...
Markets Range Bound; US-China Trade Talk, Brexit and German-Italian Spread to Watch
The forex markets are rather quiet today with major pairs and crosses bounded in Friday's range. It's back to business as usual for a Monday, without any surprise. For now, Swiss Franc is trading as the strongest, followed by Dollar. New Zealand Dollar, Euro and Australian Dollar are the...
CFTC Commitments of Traders: EUR Turned to NET SHORT Amidst Contagion Fear
As suggested in the CFTC Commitments of Traders report in the week ended August 14, NET LENGTH of USD index increased further, by +1 931 contracts, to 30 102 for the week. This was driven by the fact that the increase in speculative long positions doubled that of shorts.
EUR...
CFTC Commitments of Traders: Gold and Silver Turned to Net Shorts
According to the CFTC Commitments of Traders report for the week ended August 14, gold and silver futures surprisingly recorded NET SHORTS, as traders expected prices to weaken further. NET SHORT for for the former was 3 688 contracts, compared with NET LENGTH of 12 688 contracts in the...
Trade War Back as Main Theme as Turkish Crisis Eased, US and China to Meet
The forex markets turned into consolidative mode last week as Dollar and Yen lost momentum. Turkish currency crisis hit a climax on Monday but worries eased after the government's measures were well taken by investors. The fear of extra sanctions by the US on Turkey caused some jitters. But...
Canadian Dollar Surges on Strong Inflation, Yen Strong on Risk Aversion
Canadian Dollar makes a massive strike back as boosted by very strong inflation reading. The Loonie is now trading as the biggest gainer for today. While Yen's no.1 place is taken, it's staying the second strongest as supported by risk aversion. Dollar is trading as the weakest one for...
Hong Kong Government is to Blame for the Economic Deadlock, as HKMA Intervened Again
Sharp moderation of Hong Kong GDP growth in 2Q18 and the recent intervention by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) to prevent HKD from weakening below 7.85 against USD have once again revealed the challenge facing Hong Kong – a economy highly dependent on China and a monetary policy...
Dollar and Yen Staying in Shallow Consolidation Despite Massive Stock Rebound
The strong stock rallies in the US generally carry through to Asian session. At the time of writing, Nikkei is up trading up 0.45%, Hong Kong HSI up 0.58%, Singapore Strait Times up 0.52%. That followed the impressive 1.58% rebound in DOW overnight, with S&P 500 gained 0.79% and...
Yen and Dollar Not in Reversal Yet, Low Expectation on US-China Trade Talks
The forex markets are clearly in consolidation mode today. Yen and Dollar trades broadly lower as they digest recent gains. But Canadian Dollar is, at the time of writing, the weakest one. Australian Dollar and New Zealand Dollar are the strongest one on receding risk aversion. While sentiments could...
Yen and Dollar Pare Gains as US-China Trade Talk to Resume
While the financial markets are staying in risk averse mode generally, two development helped stabilized sentiments mildly. Firstly, Qatar offered to inject investments in Turkey as an act of "friendship". The news helped lifted DOW from day low of 24965.77 to close at 25162.41, just down -0.54%. Secondly, China...