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The US dollar is firm against the dollar-bloc currencies, and sterling, but is heavier against the euro and yen.   The 13th consecutive year-over-year decline in China's imports helped keep the pressure on the commodity producers.  Despite New Zealand reporting strong Q3 manufacturing sales (3.5% vs. -0.2% in Q2), the pendulum of market expectations have continued to swing for a rate cut later this week.   The drop in oil prices, and secondarily the widening of the interest rate gap with...

(from my colleague Dr. Win Thin) EM starts the week off in the familiar position of coming under pressure.  The strong US jobs report has all but cemented a Fed lift-off this month, helping the dollar to claw back some of its post-ECB losses.  Meanwhile, commodities continue to sink under the prospects of increased supply.  Brent oil in particular is making new cycle lows after last week’s OPEC meeting saw the quota system basically scrapped.  These factors all continue to conspire...

Economists expected China's reserves to fall by around $33 bln in November.  Instead, they fell by a little more than $87 bln.   This is the third largest decline it has recorded, and a little below the $94 bln drop reported in |August. China's reserves peaked in June 2014 near $3.993 trillion.  At the end of November, they were just above $3.438 trillion, which is essentially where they stood in October 2014. What happened in November?  There are two main considerations.  The first is...

The exaggerated response to last week's ECB meeting continues to unwind.   Draghi's dovish comments and the strength of US employment data have helped keep the divergence meme front and center.   The euro traded quietly in Asia before breaking down to almost $1.0800 in the European morning.   There seemed to be only two news developments that had a bearing.  First, the results of the first round of the French elections saw the National Front capitalize on the refugee and terrorism to lead...

The prices of the metals moved mostly sideways this week. That is, until Friday. Then foom! (Foom is the sound of a rocket taking off.) From 6 to 10am (Arizona time, i.e. 8 to 12 NY time) the price of gold rose from $1,061 to $1,087. Not surprisingly, the silver price rose a greater percentage, from $14.14 to $14.59. The catalyst seems to be the Bureau of Labor Statics jobs report. There were a few more jobs created than expected, which means the economy is doing well and/or the Fed is...

Last week lived up to the hype. It was indeed a momentous week. China joined the SDR, with a weight that puts it in third place behind the dollar and euro.  The ECB did ease policy. It delivered a 10 bp cut in the deposit rate (now -30 bp), extended its asset purchase program for six months (to March 2017), broadened the range of assets that can be bought to include regional bonds, and declared intentions to reinvest maturing proceeds. The US employment data removed what was perceived as...

1.  Given the large moves in prices shortly after the CFTC reporting period ended on 1 December renders the latest Commitment of Traders report more dated than is usually the case. 2.  The Thanksgiving holiday that closed US markets reduced participation in the currency futures.  Of the 16 gross positions of the eight currency futures we track, none had a significant adjustment (more than 10k contracts). The 9.8k contract increase of speculative gross shorts euro futures (to 261.6k) was...

The market's disappointment with the ECB unleashed pent-up corrective forces in the foreign exchange market.   This leg up in the dollar began in mid-October.  Through the day before the ECB, the euro was the weakest of the major currencies, losing 7.5% against the dollar.  The yen and sterling shed a little less than half as much.  The Australian dollar was the only one of the majors to have gained against the dollar.  And even then, its 0.12% appreciation had only been achieved here in...

(from my colleague Ilan Solot) 1) The Chinese yuan will be in the SDR.  2) Brazil had one of the most important weeks of the year, and possibly of its history.  3) Russia enacted sanctions against Turkey, while Turkey got a deal from the EU.  4) Moody’s raised Russia’s credit-rating outlook to stable from negative.  In the EM equity space, China (+2.6%), Taiwan (0.0%), and Israel (+0.0%) outperformed over the last week, while Poland (-5.4%), South Africa (-4.6%), and Chile (-3.3%) have...

After the ECB's disappointment yesterday market nerves were shattered, but the largely as expected US jobs data may help the focus return to the underlying fundamental fact.  The ECB just eased policy.  Not as much as the market expected, and that speaks to market positioning, but it did ease.  And the 211k increase in November jobs, with the October series being revised up 27k to 298k,  Fed officials looking for more improvement in the labor market got it.   The unemployment rate was...