Tag Archives: Australia

Overview: After gaining for the past couple of sessions to open the New Year, the dollar is mostly softer today. The yen is the main exception. The greenback was bid above the JPY144 area where chunky options expire today. Most emerging market currencies are also firmer though there are a few exceptions in Asia, like the South Korean won and Thai baht. Still, the general tone is consolidative ahead of tomorrow US jobs data and the eurozone's CPI. Equities, which...

Commentary will resume with a 2024 outlook on December 29. Overview: The dollar is trading with a firmer bias today ahead of the outcome of the FOMC meeting. Standing pat for two meetings was framed as a pause, but given the decline in price pressures, being unchanged for a third meeting is understood as the end of the historically aggressive tightening cycle. Fed Chair Powell is expected to express greater confidence that policy is sufficiently restrictive to bring...

Overview: The US dollar is mixed today. The dollar-bloc currencies are firmer, while the euro and yen are softer. We had anticipated a recovery of the dollar on ideas that the market has too aggressively pushed down US rates, and pricing in more Fed easing with higher confidence than seems to be warranted by the recent data.  However, US rates have not recovered, but the dollar has.  Partly, this reflects that rates have fallen as faster if not faster elsewhere, and...

Overview: Weekend accounts seemed to try to understand what Fed Chair Powell said by beginning with the large drop in US rates. Yet, most accounts miss the fact that no matter what Powell has said, the market has more often than not reacted as if he were a dove. Rates have come back firmer today, perhaps as some recognized the overshoot. The US two-year yield is up nearly seven basis points after falling 14 before the weekend. The 10-year yield is almost six basis...

Overview: The US dollar is narrowly mixed against the G10 currencies. The Canadian and Australian dollars lead the advancers, while the Scandis are pacing the losers off 0.1%-0.2% in quiet turnover. Most the freely accessible emerging market currencies are sporting softer profiles today, the Chinese yuan is among them. However, most Asia Pacific currencies, are firmer. Benchmark 10-year yields were softer in the Asia Pacific region in mostly a catch-up to the...

Overview: Corrective forces helped the dollar stabilize yesterday and it enjoys a firmer today. The euro has slipped below $1.09, and the dollar has resurfaced above JPY149.00. The FOMC minutes seem dated by the more than 30 bp decline in the US 10-year yield, the 7% rally in the S&P 500 and roughly 3% drop in the Dollar Index. The implied year-end 2024 Fed funds rate has fallen by 10 bp to 4.51% (5.33% currently). The Japanese government downgraded its economic...

Overview: The US dollar has been confined to narrow ranges today as the market awaits the October employment report. Barring a significant upside surprise, we suspect the dollar is more likely extend this week's losses. The Dollar Index is off about 0.5% this week. Within the narrow ranges, it is sporting a slightly softer profile again nearly all the G10 currencies. It is also lower against most emerging market currencies, but tight ranges dominate. Similarly,...

Overview: We suspect that if Martians read the FOMC statement, which was nearly identical to the September statement and listened to Chair Powell, they would conclude there was nothing new. Yet, the market habitually hears Powell as dovish and this has weighed on rates and the dollar, while lifting risk appetites. Follow-through selling of the greenback has dragged it lower against all the major currencies, with the Antipodean leading the way, and nearly all the...

Overview: Fears that the Israel-Hamas war was going to widen this past weekend sent gold and oil sharply higher at the end of last week. A reportedly more restrained Israeli entrance into Gaza has seen gold pullback back below $2000 (~-0.6%) and December WTI soften (~-1.7%). The US dollar is mostly softer. Stronger-than-expected Australian retail sales fan the risk of a hike next week and this appears to be helping the Australian dollar lead the advancing G10...

Overview:  The markets remain unsettled. Follow-through dollar selling has been limited today after yesterday's pullback. Narrow ranges are prevailing, but the Norwegian krone and Canadian dollar, the weakest G10 currencies in recent days, are heavier again today. Although it seems that the BOJ did not intervene earlier this week, but the dollar bulls has been chastened just the same and the greenback is holdings below yesterday's high (~JPY149.30). Higher than...