Tag Archives: USD

EUR/CHF stronger in Brexit week The EUR/CHF finished the week after Brexit with slight improvement of 0.18% (see the FX performance table below). The scare mongering by the Swiss media was misplaced.  The euro even recovered from a dip after BoE governor Carney’s comments on Thursday. We do not see strong SNB interventions at this elevated price level. We judged that the interventions happened below 1.08. Click to...

Swiss Franc  During the weak the Swiss Franc lost momentum. It could regain speed only on June 30. The stronger Franc was initiated by remarks  by BoE governor Carney. Sterling stayed on the defensive on Friday after unambiguously dovish comments from the Bank of England abruptly ended a tentative recovery in the currency, while the euro wobbled on speculation of more stimulus in Europe. Still trying to get over...

The global capital markets are stabilizing for the first time since the UK referendum.  It is not uncommon for markets to move in the direction of underlying trends on Friday’s; see follow-through gains on Monday, and a reversal on Tuesday.  That is what is happening today.  Turnaround Tuesday after such dramatic price action over the last two sessions has the feel of the proverbial dead cat bounce. Brexit There has...

Summary Sterling falls through last week’s low. Spanish election results suggest a UK is not necessarily a harbinger to anti-globalization forces. Yuan sells off and China breaks diplomatic contact with Taiwan. FX Rates Sterling has been sold beyond the panic low seen when it became clear that UK voters were choosing to leave the EU though nearly every economists warned of at least serious short- to...

SNB interventions During the Brexit turmoil on Friday, the Swiss National Bank has intervened in markets. Just after they got into the office, at 7.45 am CET, they started the interventions. Apparently the Singapore office did not have a mandate to do interventions. The central bank drove the EUR/CHF price from a low of 1.0646 towards 1.08. FX traders might have moved it higher to 1.0850. We do not think that the...

There is a nervous calm in the capital markets today. The focus is squarely on tomorrow’s UK referendum. Brexit According to a BBC focus group, the leeave camp won the debate 39%-34%. The last polls show a contest that it too close to calls in that the results are within the margin of error.  The Financial Times poll of polls has it at 45%-44% in favor of Brexit. However, the betting markets appear to be telling a...

Swiss Franc The Swiss Franc was the strongest currency. The euro fell from 1.0877 to 1.0808. Two fundamental reasons: Speculator anticipate that German investors buy Swiss francs in response to the court decision in favor of the OMT (see below) The German ZEW (see below) that was better than expected. We know that CHF acts as a proxy for the German economy via strong trade ties and the tradition that German...

Summary There is much to like in Bullard’s new paradigm. The problem is that it does not reflect the Federal Reserve’s view or approach. Policy emanates from the Fed’s leadership, but be confused by the noise. The dot plot the recent FOMC meeting was curious.  We noted right away that inexplicably there was one official that apparently anticipated one hike this year and then no hikes in 2017 or 2018.  There was...

The assassination of Jo Cox, a member of the UK parliament is a personal and political tragedy.  Her needless death provided an inflection point.  The suspension of the referendum campaigns and a steady stream of reports and speeches has the emotionalism of contest freeze.  Investors quickly understood that the Cox’s death injected a new unknown into the forces that seemed to build toward a decision to leave the EU....

FX Rates The US dollar is higher against the major currencies but the Japanese yen and the New Zealand dollar.  The dollar fell to new two-year lows against the yen to JPY103.55 before bouncing in the European morning back to JPY104.40.  The Kiwi was helped by better than expected Q1 GDP.  The euro and sterling are within yesterday’s ranges.  The euro has been able to resurface above $1.13 since Monday.  Bids have...