The Japanese yen is one of those currencies that keeps investors on its toes, and it has certainly lived up to its billing in recent weeks. USD/JPY has shot up 5.79% in the month of June and is back above the 136.00 line. BoJ Core CPI, the central bank's preferred inflation gauge, ticked upwards to 1.5% in May, up from 1.4% prior and matching the forecast.
There...
The Australian dollar is in positive territory on Tuesday. AUD/USD is trading at 0.6944 in European trade, up 0.28% on the day.
Australia releases retail sales for May on Wednesday. Retail sales is the primary gauge of consumer spending, and the markets are braced for a weak reading of 0.3%, following a 0.9% gain in April. Consumers are holding tightly onto their...
Japan has seen inflation move higher, although nowhere near the levels in the US or the UK, which are not far from double-digits. Last week, core CPI for May came in at 2.1% YoY, unchanged from April. This was the second straight month that core CPI remained above the BoJ's target of 2%. This is a dramatic shift, given that Japan struggled with deflation for...
The pound has edged higher today, shrugging off soft UK releases. Retail sales for May fell 0.5%, and declined 4.7% YoY, below the estimate of -4.5% (-5.7% prior). It was a similar story for core retail sales, which came in at -5.7% YoY, worse than the forecast of -5.1% (-6.1% prior).
The sharp declines in consumer spending should not come as a surprise, given...
The Japanese yen is in positive territory today, extending its gains from yesterday. USD/JPY is trading at 135.46 in the European session, down 0.56% on the day.
The yen has gained a bit of strength as USD/JPY is back below 136.00, after rising close to 136.71 earlier in the week, its highest level since September 1998. The yen received a reprieve from its recent...
The New Zealand dollar is sharply lower on Tuesday. NZD/USD is trading at 0.6261, down 1.14% on the day.
New Zealand data has been mixed this week. BusinessNZ Services Index rose to 55.2 in May, up from 52.2 in April. This points to stronger expansion in the services area. However, Westpac Consumer Confidence plunged to 78.7 in May, its lowest level ever...
The pound is having a quiet week, after some sharp swings last week. Monday was a holiday in the US, and it was a quiet session for the US dollar. The currency markets are calm today as well, with the exception of the sinking Japanese yen.
Last week was the turn of the central banks to perform on stage, with the Fed, BoE and SNB all raising rates. All three...
It was a roller-coaster week for the Australian dollar, with much of the volatility driven by central bank rate moves. AUD/USD ended the week with a huge decline of 1.62% but has started the week in positive territory.
Last week's releases indicate that the labour market remains robust and that inflation expectations are accelerating. Australia's employment...
The Japanese yen continues to post strong swings this week and is up sharply on Friday. USD/JPY is trading at 134.67 in Europe, up 1.86% on the day.
It's been a busy week, with the markets still digesting some dramatic moves by central banks. The Fed and SNB delivered massive salvos in their fight against inflation, and the BoE continues to tighten, albeit at a...
The Swiss franc has posted massive gains today after the Swiss National Bank raised interest rates by 0.50%. In the North American session, USD/CHF is trading at 0.9653, down a massive 2.91% on the day.
It has been a week of central bank drama, which started with the Federal Reserve delivering a massive 0.75% rate hike. This was followed today by a Swiss shocker,...
The British pound is in positive territory on Wednesday. This follows an abysmal 5-day slide which saw the pound fall as much as 600 points. In the North American session, GBP/USD is trading at 1.2060, up 0.53% on the day.
All eyes are on the Federal Reserve, with the FOMC rate decision later today. The Fed is clearly under pressure as inflation surges with no...
NZD/USD has extended its losses today. In the North American session, NZD/USD is trading at 0.6222, down 0.59% on the day.
The New Zealand dollar continues to fall, and fast. The currency has slumped 1.93% this week and is trading just above 0.6216, a 2-year low.
There is plenty of hand-wringing ahead of the FOMC meeting on Wednesday, as the financial markets...
The week ended with a disappointing US inflation report. Headline inflation in May rose to 8.6% YoY, up from 8.3% in April. Core inflation eased to 6.0%, down from 6.2%, but that was little comfort for the markets, which are showing signs of panic over entrenched inflation. The result was that risk appetite fell, sending the US dollar surging against the major...
The British pound is taking a beating today from the US dollar, following back-to-back losing sessions. In the North American session, GBP/USD is trading at 1.2378, down 0.94% on the day.
US inflation continues to accelerate. The May inflation report showed that headline inflation rose to 8.6% (8.3% prior). Core CPI ticked lower to 5.9%, down from 6.0%. With no...
GBP/USD is drifting today, with a very light economic calendar. There are no UK releases and the only important release out of the US was unemployment claims, which rose from 202 thousand to 229 thousand (210 exp.). Investors didn't pay much attention to the release, ahead of the US inflation report on Friday.
Headline CPI is expected to remain unchanged at 8.3%,...
The Australian dollar has reversed directions on Wednesday and is slightly lower. AUD/USD is trading at 0.7209, down 0.28% on the day.
The RBA surprised the markets with a supersize rate hike of 50bp yesterday, double what most analysts had predicted. The Australian dollar responded with a swing of close to 100 points and held onto half of those gains. However,...
It can't be often that a Prime Minister is hours away from potentially being removed by their own party and yet the currency is rallying? Of course, the UK political scene has been far from normal for a number of years now.
You could read one of a number of things into today's moves. The most important is that nothing has moved particularly far so we shouldn't...
The Australian dollar has reversed directions on Friday. AUD/USD is trading at 0.7225, down 0.55% on the day.
US nonfarm payrolls are traditionally the highlight of the week, but the Ukraine war, spiralling inflation and surging oil prices have taken up much of the market's attention. This has reduced some of the hype around recent NFP releases, but they still...
