Tag Archives: USD

Summary: Japanese investors bought foreign bonds in the last week of March for the first time in nine weeks. Foreigners bought the most Japanese stocks since last April. The pain trade is for a break of JPY110. Japan’s Ministry of Finance reports portfolio flows on a weekly basis with a week lag. The data just reported covers the last week in March, as the Japanese  fiscal year was drawing to a close. Japanese...

Swiss Franc EUR/CHF - Euro Swiss Franc, April 10(see more posts on EUR/CHF, ) - Click to enlarge GBP/CHF The Pound and the Swiss Franc have had a strange relationship since the missile strike by the US on a Syrian Government airbase last week. Pound to Swiss Franc exchange rates plummeted before recovering and then exceeding expectations as we entered into the weekend. The ‘anomaly’ as some are now calling it,...

There were no celebrations; no horn or trumpets, nary a sound, but an important shift took place last week. The shift was signaled by two events. The first was the US strike on Syria, and the second was investors’ willingness to look past Q1 economic data. The US missile strike on Syria was significant even if it fails to change the dynamics on the ground. It undermines the Trump Administration’s ability to “reset” the...

The US jobs growth slowed considerably more than expected in March and the disappointment pushed the dollar and equities initially lower.  United States Nonfarm payrolls The US created 98k jobs in March, well below market expectations for around 175k jobs. Adding insult to injury, revisions to the January and February data took off another 38k job. U.S. Nonfarm Payrolls, March 2017(see more posts on U.S. Nonfarm...

The US jobs data is notoriously difficult to accurately forecast consistently. I do not claim to do so now. My intent is more modest. It is simply to point out why I there is risk that the jobs data is disappointing, especially after the stronger than expected ADP estimate. U.S. Nonfarm Payrolls, March 2017(see more posts on U.S. Nonfarm Payrolls, ) Source: investing.com - Click to enlarge The same forces that...

Swiss Franc EUR/CHF - Euro Swiss Franc, April 05(see more posts on EUR/CHF, ) - Click to enlarge GBP/CHF The Swiss Franc may come under pressure tomorrow after Consumer Price Index inflation numbers are released. Inflation is expected to fall from 0.6% to 0.5% for the month of March and any weakening in the numbers could see the Swiss Franc weaken. Fridays unemployment data from Switzerland could also give a...

Summary: China’s share of global reserves is in line with expectations prior to its inclusion in the SDR. Three factors influencing allocated reserves – valuation, portfolio decisions, and China’s gradual inclusion in allocated reserves. The Swiss franc’s as a reserve asset diminished, but the “other” category appeared robust. The inclusion of the Chinese yuan in the SDR basket at the start of Q4 16 did not...

The macroeconomic fundamentals have not changed much in the first three months of the year.  The US growth remains near trend, the labor market continues to improve gradually, both headline and core inflation remain firm, and the Federal Reserve remains on course to hike rates at least a couple more times this year, even though the market is skeptical.  The uncertainty surrounding US fiscal has not been lifted, and it...

(draft of monthly column for Caixin) The election of Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States surprised many people, even seasoned political observers and astute investors. He failed to win the popular vote but did carry the electoral college, which is how the US elects its chief executive. His victory is a bit of a Rorshcach test, where people project the issues that allowed Trump to succeed, with...

Swiss Franc EUR/CHF - Euro Swiss Franc, March 31(see more posts on EUR/CHF, ) - Click to enlarge FX Rates The US dollar fell against all the major currencies in the first three months of 2017. The weakness initially seemed to be a correction to the rally, which began before the US election last year.  The dollar recovered in February, in anticipation of a hawkish Fed in March. The Fed did hike rates, but the...