EUR/USD Extends Losses

The euro continues to lose ground and has started the week in negative territory. In the European session, EUR/USD is trading at 1.0783, down 0.19%. Earlier in the day, the euro has now fallen to its lowest level since Jan. 23. Euro takes a spill The euro sent market participants on a roller-coaster ride last […]

Fourth-Quarter GDP Print to Ease Sterling Problems?

Last week was dominated by the US, particularly the impressive data releases on Friday. Other regions could steal the limelight this week, particularly the UK where developments across the board are not encouraging. Friday’s fourth-quarter GDP figure could potentially offer some respite, but will this be enough for sterling to recover some of its recent […]

Possible Market Implications for Chinese Balloon

The big story over the weekend, at least as far as social media was concerned, was the Chinese balloon. The US claims it contained spy equipment, China says it was a weather balloon that went off course. The incident has plenty of political fodder, and has heightened tensions between Washington and Beijing. The first policy […]

Sunset Market Commentary

Markets Last Friday’s stellar US payrolls (labour market even tighter than expected) and non-manufacturing ISM (US economy more resilient than feared) continue feeding into markets. Recall their dovish reaction to Fed (and ECB) meetings last week even if they were already disobeying central bank’s guidance. From Friday, they had to back down on those dovish […]

RBA Board Increases the Cash Rate by 0.25% to 3.35%

Governor’s statement slightly more hawkish than in December. We confirm our forecast for the cash rate to peak at 3.85% in May. The Reserve Bank Board decided to increase the cash rate from 3.10% to 3.35% at its February meeting. That decision was in line with market expectations and the Westpac view. The major area […]

Big Week Ahead

The new week kicked off with Chinese equities jumping into a bull market as traders returned from their Lunar New Year holiday. The CSI index, which began its positive move back in November, rallied more than 20% since then, and the positive vibes weren’t only on the menu of the Chinese, the S&P500 also freed […]

Crucial Week with Fed, BoE and ECB Policy Meetings

Markets Last Friday’s session was one to rapidly forget about. December US PCE deflators and spending data printed near consensus as could be expected following the Q4 GDP release earlier that week. Final figures from University Michigan consumer confidence showed a downward revision to 1y (3.9% from 4%) and 5-10y (2.9% from 3%) inflation expectations. […]

What Awaits the Oil Market in February?

Information is not investment advice The Backstory Western countries are trying to find other options for oil and gas supplies after a 10th package of sanctions, which will put more pressure on Russian oil and decrease global oil supply. Italy, for example, is in talks with Libya. However, the lingering question is “will the reopening […]

Euro Starts Week With Gains

The euro is in positive territory on Monday. EUR/USD is trading at 1.0907 in the European session, up 0.36%. It was a quiet week for the euro, which continues to hug the 1.09 line. I expect to see stronger volatility this week, as the eurozone releases GDP and inflation data, followed by the ECB rate […]

Japanese Yen Remains Calm

The Japanese yen had an uneventful week and edged higher on Monday. USD/JPY is trading at 130.06 in the European session, up 0.18%. US PCE slows to 4.4% Last week wrapped up with Core PCE slowing to 4.4% in December, down from 4.7% a month earlier. However, the month-over-month reading showed a gain of 0.3%, […]