UK Data Could Further Ease Recession Fears, But Can It Lift the Pound?

Economic output stats for January will kick off this month’s data releases for the UK on Friday (07:00 GMT), providing investors fresh clues on whether the British economy is still teetering on the edge of a recession. Recent indicators suggest that the outlook has brightened slightly, but the Bank of England nevertheless is undecided about […]

Bank of Japan: Will Kuroda Pass the Torch Untouched?

On Friday, Haruhiko Kuroda will sit at the helm of the Bank of Japan for the last time and investors may be eager to find out whether his exit will be accompanied by fireworks, or whether he will prefer to pass the torch to the incoming Governor untouched. With several officials arguing that there is […]

AUD/USD – Is RBA Nearing the End?

The Australian dollar continues to lose ground and is sharply lower on Tuesday. In the European session, AUD/USD is trading at 0.6676, down 0.81%. Earlier, the Australian dollar fell as low as 0.6674, its lowest level since December 23rd. RBA delivers a ‘dovish hike’ There were no surprises from the RBA, which hiked rates by […]

Swissie Rally Fizzles, SNB's Jordan Up Next

USD/CHF has rebounded on Tuesday, ending a rally that saw the Swiss franc climb over 1%. In the European session, USD/CHF is trading at 0.9344, up 0.40%. Swiss inflation higher than expected Switzerland released the February inflation report on Monday and the reading was higher than expected. CPI rose 0.7% m/m, up from 0.6% in […]

German Industrial Orders Support Hawkish ECB Stance

Europe continues to surprise with statistics, suggesting more room for a hawkish tone from the ECB next week. In addition to hawkish inflation readings, data from Germany today highlighted a continued recovery in industrial orders. Destatis reported a 1% rise in manufacturing orders in January, after +3.4% in the previous month. This sharply contrasts the […]

Fed Chair Powell Said Ultimate Peak Interest Rate Level Would be Higher

Markets Fed Chair Powell in front of the US Senate as expected said that the ultimate peak interest rate level would be higher than expected in December (5-5.25% median projection in the dot plot). Less expected was the other bomb he dropped: showing readiness to speed up rate hikes again if warranted by the data. […]

Can Nonfarm Payrolls Refuel Dollar's Rally?

Another high-stakes US employment report will be released on Friday. Most indicators point to another strong month for the labor market, although there’s a risk of some ‘payback’ following the sensational numbers last month. As for the dollar, the outlook seems positive in an environment of rising Fed bets, especially when considering the vulnerabilities in […]

Bank of Canada to Set Tightening Campaign on Hold

The Bank of Canada will likely keep its promise to declare a pause in monetary tightening during Wednesday’s policy meeting, although other major central banks are still debating higher rates. The policy announcement could cause more shorting of the battered Canadian dollar, unless policymakers signal a conditional halt, leaving the door open for additional rate increases later […]

Hawks are in the Air

Investors got a double shot of hawkishness from Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Jerome Powell’s semi-annual testimony before the US Senate yesterday. This time, Powell left no place for doubt. He clearly said that nothing about the data suggests to him that they have tightened too much, and that ‘if the totality of the data were […]

Powell Brings 50bp Hikes Back on the Table

Market movers today In the US, markets will pay close attention to the JOLTs job openings, which have been a good leading indicator for wage growth. German industrial production figures for January are on the agenda. Factory orders showed a small rebound at the start of the year, but truck toll mileage and electricity consumption […]