Morning Roll Call

Negative USD view persists amid the Trump administration’s more aggressive protectionist policy agenda

The negative view persists and a probable lack of overtly hawkish Fed signals in the US. FOMC is to hike +25bp next week and retain an optimistic outlook but risks of a strong hawkish signal have eased following benign Feb earnings and CPI, weaker Q1 tracking estimates (Atlanta Fed now cast trimmed to 1.9% from […]

Negative USD view persists amid the Trump administration’s more aggressive protectionist policy agenda Read More »

The Euro strength could ponder on inflation down the line; US PPI advanced by 0.2%, while retail sales saw a decline in February

According to the ECB President Mario Draghi’s speech yesterday, during the ECB conference, the monetary policy will remain patient and prudent with sustained adjustment in the path of inflation towards target is the condition for net asset purchases to end. He has also mentioned that there is still a need to see further evidence that

The Euro strength could ponder on inflation down the line; US PPI advanced by 0.2%, while retail sales saw a decline in February Read More »

US CPI increased 0.2% m/m in February and US core inflation remains stable despite surging apparel costs; UK’s inflation seen falling to BoE target within a years’ time

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.2 percent in February on a seasonally adjusted basis after rising 0.5 percent in January,” the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported yesterday. Over the last 12 months, the all items index rose 2.2 percent before seasonal adjustment. The index for all items less food

US CPI increased 0.2% m/m in February and US core inflation remains stable despite surging apparel costs; UK’s inflation seen falling to BoE target within a years’ time Read More »

Prospect of steel and aluminum tariffs undermined a decent case for tactical USD long into the March FOMC; Gold tumbles to lows, weakens further below $1320 level yesterday

The prospects of a trade war have increased due to the US tariffs on steel and aluminum. However, at the last minute, President Trump shifted and opened the door to exemptions, including for Canada and Mexico. Australia experiences a bilateral trade deficit with the US and cooperates in military matters, and may also be in

Prospect of steel and aluminum tariffs undermined a decent case for tactical USD long into the March FOMC; Gold tumbles to lows, weakens further below $1320 level yesterday Read More »

Safe-haven Yen rebounds on Japan politics, a quiet session ahead

Forex today in Asia this Monday was mainly driven by the risk sentiment, with the Asian equities tracking their Wall Street counterparts higher, in the wake of disappointing US wage growth numbers. Therefore, we saw the USD/JPY reaching for a test of the 107 handle before coming under aggressive selling pressure, as uncertainty over the

Safe-haven Yen rebounds on Japan politics, a quiet session ahead Read More »

US Economic growth continued at a moderate paste; ECB left its interest rates, quantitative easing and forward guidance unchanged

The March Beige Book maintained that US economic growth continued at a modest to moderate pace, but some of the language regarding wage growth and prices have changed. The March report notes that wage and price pressures picked up between January and March in many districts, where employers have raised waged and expanded benefit packages

US Economic growth continued at a moderate paste; ECB left its interest rates, quantitative easing and forward guidance unchanged Read More »

Main focus remains on the ‘trade war’ and the issues surrounding ‘Brexit’

As it is known, U.S. President Donald Trump restated his attention to place big tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum, warning the European Union of the impact of ‘big tax’ for not treating the United States well in terms of trade. On his comment, the International Monetary Funds’ Managing Director, Christine Lagarde, said on

Main focus remains on the ‘trade war’ and the issues surrounding ‘Brexit’ Read More »

Reserve Bank of Australia kept the cash rate unchanged yesterday. EU response to Trumps’ proposed tariffs would not promise well for market sentiment

Yesterday we saw a bundle of news coming from Australia, where most traders were concentrating on the RBA and the decision regarding the cash rate. As the Reserve Bank of Australia decided to keep the rate unchanged at 1.50%, Aussie fell of daily high. In addition, the Australian retail sales rose less than expected, increasing

Reserve Bank of Australia kept the cash rate unchanged yesterday. EU response to Trumps’ proposed tariffs would not promise well for market sentiment Read More »

UK services PMI higher than anticipated. Euro seems to stabilize as the markets slowly digest the Italian elections, while the developments on US trade policy will be the primary focus this week

Growth in the UK service sector picked up pace and signaled the strongest rate of service sector output growth for four months, the latest report from Markit Economics showed yesterday. UK services PMI was up from 53.0 in January and better than forecasted (53.3) coming at 54.5. The business activity rose at the fastest pace

UK services PMI higher than anticipated. Euro seems to stabilize as the markets slowly digest the Italian elections, while the developments on US trade policy will be the primary focus this week Read More »

Official results of Italian votes are not expected to be soon, but projections point to a hung parliament

The Euro witnessed a mixed start to the week, initially having received a boost following the weekend’s German SPD’s vote in favor of the coalition deal. However, the upside was short-lived as sentiment soured on the Italian election’s projected outcome of a hung parliament, with both the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement and the far-right League party

Official results of Italian votes are not expected to be soon, but projections point to a hung parliament Read More »