30/ 04/ 2017

Week Ahead | US Jobs and Fed to Guide Markets

The US dollar had mixed results last week as it had gains against NZD, JPY, CAD and AUD while it was weak against EUR and GBP.

Risk appetite in Europe returned after the first round of elections in France left Macron and LePen heading into the May 7 deciding second round. The Trump administration presented its tax reform plan and launched a more aggressive trade offensive against NAFTA but anxiety around the dollar surged with the first release of the US GDP in the first quarter coming in below expectations at 0.7 percent.

The focus of this week will be on US jobs report and FED monetary policy meeting. 

27/ 04/ 2017

Draghi's Dilemma; To Taper or Not to Taper

Yesterday markets did not move as expected after the recent tax reform announced by the White House. Given the market’s lofty expectations, investors are viewing it as little more than a road map, rather than a “big announcement”, because the statement did not provide any comprehensive details.

Today in the evening, the market will return to one of its favorite games: guessing what Mario Draghi can say to either talk up or talk down the euro. Draghi is expected provide info on ECB QE Programme and tapering decisions towards future moves, as growth continued to be solid in the euro zone.

26/ 04/ 2017

Donald and his Tax Plans

Euro seems to have found its winning formula with Dollar taking a back seat with doubts whether Trump administration will provide details on tax reform plans.

Euro also found support amid easing French election-related anxiety, as a Macron win appears to be full priced-in by markets.

Today’s focus will be US President Donald Trump’s Speech where he is expected to announce his tax reform plans which will be monitored closely by markets.

25/ 04/ 2017

Euro Explodes Higher on French Election

The euro exploded higher after centrist Emmanuel Macron "won" the first round of the French Presidential election on Sunday where EUR/AED gapped above 4.00 after 5 months.

However there are 2 big risks for the euro this week - the first is Thursday's European Central Bank monetary policy announcement and the second is a tax reform announcement by U.S. President Trump on Wednesday.

Today’s focus will be on US housing and consumer data where it will be interesting to see if data can support dollar growth.