Loonie Awaits Q2 GDP Data after Depressing Week; OPEC in Focus as Well

Canada will report GDP data for the second quarter on Wednesday at 12:30 GMT as investors largely expect a bold rate increase in September. The figures will follow another depressing week for the loonie versus the US dollar, but even if they are arrive encouraging, they may not be able to provide a strong helping […]

Will EU Intervention in the Electricity Market Work?

Market movers today ECB Governing Council member Klaas Knot speaks at our Danske Talks hybrid event today, where we will discuss the monetary policy outlook (see registration here). Hawkish ECB Governing Council members Holzmann, Muller and Wunsch will also speak along with dove Stournaras about “Inflation: Can Central Banks Cope?” at the Alpbach Forum in […]

Europeans Will Step in to Stop the Soaring Energy Prices

The S&P 500 stepped into the bearish consolidation zone after having cleared a major Fibonacci resistance, the 38.2% retracement on the summer rally. Nasdaq fell another 1% and tested the 50-DMA to the downside, where it found support, while the German DAX fell to the lowest levels since mid-July, and has given back more than […]

Friday's Payrolls a Potential Trigger to Decide on the Next Directional Move

Markets Yesterday, last week’s repositioning on US and European interest rate markets simply continued with European markets again underperforming. Chair Powell on Friday was very clear that the Fed will do ‘whatever it takes’ to bring inflation back to the 2.0% target, even as that may cause pain in terms of lower growth and higher […]

Yen Stabilizes after Hitting 139

The Japanese yen is in positive territory today after starting the week with sharp losses. USD/JPY is trading at 138.22, down 0.34%. Japan releases a host of events on Wednesday, including retail sales and consumer confidence. Retail sales for July is expected to come in at -0.5% MoM, following a 1.4% decline in June. Consumer […]

NZD Drifting, US New Home Sales Next

The New Zealand dollar is paddling in calm waters, as NZD/USD trades close to 1-month lows. In the European session, NZD/USD is trading at 0.6176, up 0.10%. The kiwi is still smarting from a disastrous week, in which NZD/USD plunged 4.40%. RBNZ coy on its plans The RBNZ is in the midst of an aggressive […]

Sunset Market Commentary

Markets: The market focus temporary shifted from Fed Powell’s assessment on monetary policy at Friday’s Jackson Hole symposium to the EMU growth outlook. Activity in the EMU as measured by the PMI’s as expected/feared again contracted in August. The composite index dropped further below the 50-reference, easing from 49.9 to 49.2, the weakest level in […]

Can US Durable Goods Give US Indices a Push?

US indices fell rather dramatically in the last two sessions. There were a couple of factors contributing, but the Jackson Hole symposium later in the week is seen as a risk catalyst. But in early trading today, better than expected PMI in Europe helped bring back some risk appetite. With generalized concerns over the health […]

GBP/USD Jumps on Weak US Hhousing Data

The British pound has jumped 0.82% today, as the currency has rebounded somewhat from its worst week of the year. GBP/USD plunged 2.53% last week, as the US dollar has found its mojo after weeks of beating a retreat. GBP/USD has climbed today after US New Home Sales dropped to 511 thousand in July, down […]

Fed Could Use Jackson Hole to Right the Ship

With Fed officials heading to Jackson Hole, market participants are bracing for turbulence. Despite raising rates with incredible force, US yields remain stubbornly low as markets speculate about rate cuts next year. That’s counterproductive for a central bank still fighting inflation, and if Chair Powell attempts to ‘right the ship’ in his speech on Friday, […]