Sunset Market Commentary

Markets Spanish inflation served as an eyeopener this morning (details below). Price growth unexpectedly accelerated to 5.8% in January, missing the consensus by a full percentage point. It’s a reminder that we, the ECB or anyone else shouldn’t take easing headline inflation for granted. Core inflation also shot up to 7.5%, highlighting the persistence of […]

Dollar is Poised for a Run

This week has all the makings of being vital for the coming weeks and months, with the most important publications for the market in focus. The week’s main event will undoubtedly be the Fed’s interest rate decision. More specifically, the comments on the decision and the press conference will follow, where investors and traders will […]

Focus on Inflation

Market movers today After the upside surprise in Spanish inflation figures yesterday, the focus turns towards the preliminary inflation data from France today. Please note, that the release of German CPI, which was also originally scheduled for today, has been postponed until next week due to technical problems. We will also get the euro area […]

Fed, and Earnings

Stock investors kicked off the week on a cautious note, as the Federal Reserve (Fed) is expected to kill joy when it announced its latest decision tomorrow, and earnings announcements may not save the day. Some profit taking US equities kicked off the week on a negative note, as many investors preferred booking profits before […]

EUR/USD Dropping from the Upper End of Last Week's Trading Range

Markets Spanish (headline) inflation unexpectedly ended a 5-month run of decline (5.8% Y/Y from 5.7% Y/Y) while core inflation accelerated to a new high (7.5% Y/Y from 7% Y/Y). Belgian fell from 10.35% Y/Y to 8.05% Y/Y with lower energy and natural gas prices the sole driver. All underlying inflation gauges (core, services, food,…) continued […]

Aussie Slides on Soft Retail Sales

It has been a rough start to the week for the Australian dollar. AUD/USD has dropped 0.68% on Tuesday and is down 1.36% on the week. In the European session, the Australian dollar is trading just above the 0.70 line. Australia’s retail sales sink Retail sales for December were dismal, with a reading of -3.9% […]

Fed Expected to Hike, But Then What?

The overwhelming consensus is that the Fed will hike by another 25bps at the conclusion of its meeting tomorrow. With such strong agreement among traders and economists, it’s unlikely the rate decision itself will move the markets. That is, unless the Fed shocks everyone, including its own members, by not raising by a quarter percentage […]

Packed Week of Risk Events to Inject Life into Markets

The next few days promise to be wild and incredibly eventful for financial markets thanks to a string of central bank decisions, earnings from tech titans, and key economic data releases. There was already a strong sense of tension in the air as investors digested a barrage of corporate earnings and key reports ahead of […]

Canada's Economy Edges Up in November, Points to Zero Growth in December 

The Canadian economy expanded by 0.1% month/month (m/m) in November, matching Statistics Canada’s flash estimate. Meanwhile, December’s flash estimate showed no change. November’s increase in activity was fairly broad, with output expanding in 14 of the 20 industries. The service-producing sector rose by 0.3%, while the goods-producing sector declined 0.1%. The gain was led by […]

Bank of England: One Final 50bps Rate Hike

The Bank of England will review its monetary policy on Thursday in what might turn out to be a live event as investors eagerly look for signs that rate differentials with the Fed will narrow this year. While a downshift to softer rate hikes is less likely to happen this time, pound traders may seek […]