The Japanese yen showed a bit of strength earlier but has pared these gains. In the European session, USD/JPY is trading at 15141, up 0.04% The markets are bracing for a sharp drop in US nonfarm payrolls for March. Job growth hit 353,000 in January but then fell to 275,000 in February and the market estimate for March stands at 200,000. The labour market has...
The British pound is showing limited movement on Friday. In the European session, GBP/USD is trading at 1.2769, up 0.05%. The British economy grew in November by 0.3% m/m, rebounding from a 0.3% decline in October and edging above the market estimate of 0.2%. This was the sharpest GDP growth since July and was driven by stronger activity in services, retail sales...
The Canadian dollar is showing little movement on Tuesday. In the European session, USD/CAD is trading at 1.3382, down 0.13%. We could see stronger movement from the Canadian dollar in the North American session, with the release of the Canadian inflation report. Canada releases the November inflation report later on Tuesday. In October, inflation dropped to 3.1%...
The Australian dollar has been relatively quiet during the week but is getting pummelled on Friday. AUD/USD is trading at 0.6685, down 0.84% on the day. The sharp drop can be attributed to technical factors and hawkish comments from Fed members on Thursday. The Federal Reserve is not yet ready to wrap up its current rate-tightening cycle and has sent out the...
The euro is down for a third straight day and fell earlier to 1.0629, its lowest level since Jan. 23. In the European session, EUR/USD is trading at 1.0639, down 0.30%. The US dollar is showing some strength this week against the majors, as US data continues to shine. Retail sales impressed with a 3% gain earlier this week, and PPI and unemployment claims were...
USD has traded relatively flat following the slew of Fed speakers in the past 8hrs - despite Dec Fed Funds steepening aggressively from <50% implied probability to 56% probability of a hike. Perhaps more interestingly though, is that a fed hike has never happened in the past unless fed funds have priced 50% and recently we have traded below this figure which makes...
Fed Lockhart Speech Highlights: Lockhart: Tepid Business Investment Plans Raise Questions About Growth Lockhart: Uncertainty A Real Factor For Economy Right Now Lockhart: Fed Rate Policy Will Be 'Cautious And Gradual' Lockhart: 'No Gun To Our Head' To Raise Rates Quickly Lockhart: Two Rate Rises Remain Possible, One Likely This Year Fed's Lockhart: There's...