A Turbulent Week Ahead

It’s been quite a volatile start to the week which is unlikely to abate considering what’s to come over the next few days. Central banks are lining up this week to deliver huge rate hikes as the desperate fight against inflation continues. The Fed headlines on Wednesday but others will follow including the BoE, SNB, […]

The Crypto Market Has Taken a Hiatus from the Sell-off

Market picture Bitcoin has changed little over the past 24 hours, trading at $19.4K on Tuesday at the start of the day. The initial fall was neatly redeemed during active European and US trading amid a rebound in stock indices. Some investors and traders saw the market response as excessive and sought to buy back […]

Bank of Japan unlikely to throw life jacket to sinking yen

Faced with stubbornly low inflation, the Bank of Japan is now among the few central banks not tightening policy. There is little appetite for any strategy changes when the BoJ meets on Thursday and even if the government resorts to FX intervention, it won’t be enough to turn the tide in the sinking yen. Of […]

AUD/USD Dips after RBA Minutes

The Australian dollar is in negative territory today. AUD/USD is trading at 0.6706, down 0.30% on the day. RBA says rates to increase The RBA minutes of the September 6th meeting didn’t shed any new light on the central bank’s rate policy, and the Australian dollar’s response has been muted. The minutes reiterated the message […]

It Takes a Shock for Oil to Breakaway from $85

WTI oil suffered an intraday drop of more than 4.5% to $81.70 yesterday but managed to regain all losses by the end of the day, trading now at $85.40. The $85 area has repeatedly acted as the Rubicon since 2007. In 2008, the failure was provided by the near collapse of the financial system. Oil […]

Crypto Bears Confirmed Their Strength

Market picture Bitcoin collapsed 9.6% on Tuesday, ending the day near $20.2K, which remains on Wednesday morning. Ether is losing 6.4% overnight to $1610. The most significant altcoins took a heavy hit, losing between 4.6% (BNB) and 13% (Solana), but remain on the plus side after seven days. The bears in Bitcoin have asserted that […]

Yen Recovers after BoJ Rate Check

The Japanese yen has posted sharp gains today. USD/JPY is trading at 143.09, down 1.00% on the day. Is Japan planning a currency intervention? The yen has taken investors on a roller-coaster ride this week. On Tuesday, the dollar shined, posting broad gains against the majors and climbing 1.19% against the yen. The catalyst for […]

Weakening UK Inflation Eases Pressure on the Pound

The inflation report marathon continues; it was the UK’s turn this morning. Traditionally, the consumer price change figures attracted the most attention. For the month, they rose by 0.5% (slightly less than the 0.6% expected), and annual inflation fell from 10.1% to 9.9%, slightly weaker than the 10.0% expected. As previously with the US data, […]

September Flashlight for the FOMC Blackout Period

Summary Another super-sized 75 bps rate hike at next week’s FOMC meetings seems all but assured. Employment growth has been robust over the past two months, averaging 421K new jobs in July and August. Headline inflation has been relatively tame over the same period, but falling gasoline prices have accounted for the bulk of the […]

Sterling Climbs as UK Inflation Eases

It has been a busy week for the British pound. GBP/USD has climbed 0.66% today and is trading at 1.1566. This follows the pound’s huge decline on Tuesday, as the US dollar pummelled the major currencies after a weaker-than-expected inflation report shocked the financial markets. The US dollar, which has looked mediocre recently, received a […]