11/ 01/ 2018

ECB Policy Meeting Minutes to Drive the EUR, with the Dollar on the Bounce

The U.S. Dollar was volatile against a basket of currencies on Wednesday as investors reacted negatively to a report that China was ready to slow or halt its purchases of U.S. Treasuries. The dollar posted its biggest one-day drop in nearly eight months against the Japanese Yen.

Market sentiment towards the Dollar has been mixed, with news of China’s plans to pull back on purchasing U.S Treasuries overshadowing some hawkish FOMC member commentary from earlier in the week. Concerns were quashed however, with the Chinese government denying that it was looking to pull back on purchases, providing the Dollar with much needed support this morning.

It’s all about the ECB this afternoon and whether there are any hints of more than just a tapering to the asset purchasing program, with the Dollar on the move in the early part of the day.

10/ 01/ 2018

UK Economic Data brings the GBP into Focus, with an Eye on the USD

The greenback was broadly higher against majority of its peers on Tuesday on further short covering from late 2017 due to soaring U.S. treasury yields on Fed rate hike optimism.

Heading into Europe, while it’s a quiet day for the EUR, it’s a particularly busy day for the Pound. Macroeconomic data out of the UK this morning includes December’s manufacturing and industrial production figures, trade data and the NIESR GDP Estimate. Focus will be on the trade and manufacturing production figures and, while Brexit remains the key driver for the Pound, we will expect the markets to respond to today’s figures.

09/ 01/ 2018

FOMC Hawks Save the Dollar, but Pressure Remains

The Dollar gives up some of Monday’s gains in early trade as the BoJ shifts on policy. Yen strengthens against all major currencies in Asian session on news that BoJ lowers its long-dated JGB purchases. Strength in Yen is followed by Aussie, which is lifted by strong housing data. On the other hand, Dollar and Euro are both trading weakly. Comments from Fed officials overnight gave no extra confidence to the markets that Fed would hike three more times this year, not to mention four. Meanwhile, Euro stays soft as recent rally lost steam.

With data on the lighter side through the European and U.S session, the hawkish FOMC chatter will be fresh in the minds of the markets today.

08/ 01/ 2018

Week Ahead | Euro and Pound Being Watched

2018 started off where 2017 left off the dollar remained under pressure, but didn’t really collapse. US inflation and retail sales numbers stand out in the second week of the year. The greenback made a recovery attempt on a great ISM Manufacturing PMI score and as the Fed minutes did not rock the boat. However, that did not last too long. The euro stood out in challenging the highs while the pound managed to shrug off mediocre PMI data.

After Friday’s major data dump, the week ahead – the second trading week of the New Year – will be a very light one in terms of key economic releases. From US, there will be two speeches later from Federal Reserve members, which could shed light on a timetable for interest rate hikes from the U.S central bank. The Bank of Canada will issue a Business Outlook Survey today.The Pound, along with the Euro has maintained its stronger value against the U.S Dollar and will get plenty of attention this week as traders emerge in full after their long holiday slumber. Retail Sales numbers will come from the European Union today.