The Weekly Bottom Line: Fed Chair Powell Sticks to Tough Talk

U.S. Highlights Speaking at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium on Friday, Chair Powell noted that some progress had been made on the inflation front, but that inflation was still “too high”. He noted that the Fed would proceed carefully in either tightening the policy rate further or holding it constant as it watches the data. […]

Weekly Economic & Financial Commentary: Cracks Starting to Emerge?

After a strong run last week, this week’s barrage of economic data brought expectations back down to Earth. Durable goods orders seem to be stagnating as high mortgage rates keep the housing market under pressure. Meanwhile, preliminary benchmark revisions from BLS reveal that the labor market is not as scorching as previously thought.

Fed Chair Powell on "Navigating by the Stars Under Cloudy Skies"

Chair Powell kicked off his remarks re-iterating the Fed's 2% target, and its commitment to attaining that goal. Powell outlined the decline in inflation so far, and acknowledged the welcome cooler inflation readings in past two months. However, he then emphasized that there is "substantial further ground to cover to get back to price stability."

Powell at Jackson Hole: Fed Committed to 2% Inflation But Agility Required

Fed Chair Jerome Powell reiterated the FOMC's commitment to bring inflation down to 2% during his speech in Jackson Hole, WY today. He stated that "two percent is and will remain our inflation target."

Focus Turns to Key Data Releases This Week

Focus this week will turn to US non-farm payrolls, ISM manufacturing, Chinese PMI and Euro Flash inflation for August.

Aussie Finally Stems Its Losses

The Aussie finally stabilised last week, with US dollar price action mixed and China stepping up its defence of the yuan. This week’s crowded calendar includes Australia July CPI and Q2 capex, a speech by RBA’s Bullock, Eurozone August CPI and US non-farm payrolls.

E-mini S&P 500 Reacts Positively to Powell's Speech

The S&P 500 Index chart shows that: → the price of the index finds support in the 4,340-4,380 zone, where the June-July lows were formed;

Crypto Market Holds Positions But Still Looks Down

The technical picture for Bitcoin remains bearish on weekly timeframes, as the price is below its 200-week average and outside of its ascending channel. The most likely short-term outlook is for a decline to the $23.9-24.6K region, with the lower boundary being the 50-week average and the upper one being the pivot area from last August.

Retail Sales Gives Aussie Brief Boost

The Australian dollar started the week with gains but then retreated. In the European session, AUD/USD is trading at 0.6408, up 0.09%. Last week, the Australian dollar showed significant swings of around 1%.

Sunset Market Commentary

Neither Fed’s Powell nor ECB’s Lagarde at the Jackson Hole gathering offered groundbreaking views on the economy or monetary policy going forward. Add to that today’s empty (but backloaded!) calendar and lower trading volumes – the UK enjoys the Summer Bank Holiday – and you get the perfect background for a technical trading session. The ECB’s monthly credit survey is worth mentioning though.