Japanese Yen – Calm Before the Storm?

After some mid-week volatility, USD/JPY has settled down. In the European session, the yen is trading quietly at 143.59. Markets eye BoJ meeting For anyone following the Japanese yen, next week promises to be interesting, at the very least. The Federal Reserve will hold its policy meeting on September 21st, with the Bank of Japan […]

Pound Slides After Soft Retail Sales

The British pound continues to lose ground after a brutal retail sales report. The pound dropped as low as 1.1350 earlier today, its lowest level since March 2020. GBP/USD is trading at 1.1373 in the European session, down 0.73%. UK retail sales decline The week wrapped up on a sour note in the UK, as […]

China's Weaker Currency for a Stronger Economy

China’s data package released this morning exceeded expectations in countering the worsening market sentiment. Official data showed a 5.4% y/y rise in retail sales in August compared to the expected 3.8%. The retail sector has benefitted from pent-up demand after a sluggish 2.7% MoM. Industrial production added 4.2% YoY against expectations of 3.8%. These improvements […]

Japan CPI, China Loan Prime Rate

At the start of next week there are two Far East data points that are important to talk about more from a perspective of technicalities. That is, they aren’t expected to cause an immediate move in the currency markets, but do provide some important insights into where currencies could be going. And that based on […]

Pound's Demise Probably Forces BoE to Tighten Harder

A package of retail sales statistics in Britain appears to have removed the last layer of support for the Pound, sending it into a dive. GBPUSD earlier today renewed its lows since 1985, dropping to 1.1350. Fresh data showed a 1.6% m/m and 5.4% y/y drop in sales, which was noticeably weaker than the expected […]

US August CPI ahead of Fed Meeting

Tomorrow is likely to be one of the most important days for the markets this week, because we get some crucial data ahead of the FOMC meeting next week. To make matters more interesting, the Fed is already in its blackout period. Meaning officials are likely to not respond to the data, and provide some […]

The Crypto Market has Taken a Step Up But Has Not Yet Fly

Market picture Bitcoin has added 10% in the past seven days, trading at $21.7K. Ethereum jumped 10.3% to $1730. Top-10 altcoins add between 1.5% (Polkadot) and 9% (Solana). Total cryptocurrency market capitalisation, according to CoinMarketCap, rose 7.9% for the week to $1.06 trillion. The Cryptocurrency Fear and Greed Index is at 25 starting the week, […]

China's Disinflation Could Put Pressure on the Yuan

China is at the other end of the spectrum, while the developed world is facing the highest inflation rate in two generations. The published CPI and PPI data for August marked another drop in inflationary pressures and fell well below expectations. The consumer price index slowed from 2.7% to 2.5% y/y against an expected acceleration […]

Risk Rebound Continues

European stocks are off to a positive start on Monday, following a relatively muted day in Asia amid bank holiday closures in China, Hong Kong and South Korea. UK growth continues to struggle The UK economy grew slightly less than expected in July, with growth supported by consumer-facing services on the back of the Women’s […]

UK Inflation to Accelerate; What Does this Mean for the Pound?

The UK has been in the spotlight recently, with Liz Truss becoming the nation’s new prime minister last Monday, and Queen Elizabeth passing away on Thursday. Although the BoE gathering – initially scheduled for Thursday – was postponed for next week due to the queen’s death, pound traders have good reason to stay in front […]