GBP/USD is trading at 1.2517 in Europe, almost unchanged. In the UK, GDP declined by 0.3% in March m/m, below the 0.1% estimate and the February reading of 0.0%. Still, the economy managed to gain 0.1% in the first quarter, unchanged from Q4 2022 and matching the estimate. There was no surprise as the Bank of England raised rates by 25 basis points, bringing the...
German consumer confidence continued its upswing heading into May. The German GfK consumer sentiment index rose to -25.7, up from -29.3 in April and above the estimate of -27.5 points. Not exactly red-hot numbers, but the upswing has now extended over seven straight months, a clear trend that the German consumer is becoming more optimistic about economic...
Bank of Japan Governor Ueda spoke at his first news conference as head of the central bank today. It wasn't quite a State of the Union address, but Ueda's message was clear - the current monetary policy was appropriate and he had no plans to make any major shifts. There has been strong speculation that Ueda will make some significant moves, perhaps not right away...
The British pound is down considerably on Friday and the US dollar has posted gains against the major currencies. In the European session, GBP/USD is trading at 122.13, down 0.60%. UK releases are a mixed bag on Friday. Business activity and manufacturing weakened in March. The Services PMI eased to 52.8, down from 53.5 in February and shy of the estimate of 53.0...
The British pound has posted sharp gains on Monday, after falling below the symbolic 1.20 level on Friday. In the European session, GBP/USD is trading at 1.2026, up 0.72%. In the UK, the economic calendar is unusually quiet this week, with no tier-1 releases. There will be a host of BoE members speaking, including BoE member Broadbent today and Governor Bailey...
USD/JPY is in positive territory on Monday. In the North American session, USD/JPY is trading at 128.50, up 0.52%. The yen had an excellent week, climbing over 3% and trading at levels not seen since May 2022. The Bank of Japan holds a two-day policy meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday in what could be one of the highlights of the week. BOJ meetings were...
The Swiss franc is showing little movement for a second straight day. In the North American session, USD/CHF is trading at 0.9993, down 0.03%. Consumer confidence fell in the October survey to -47, down from -42 in the previous quarter. This marked a record low, as Swiss consumers have become even more pessimistic about the economic outlook. The survey found that...
I wrote a blog post Friday about the CCI data release trade potential on SPY today. May, June & July were all negative CCI prints which saw the market move lower, with August being a slight lift but still saw a negative move as the market was expecting higher. Todays results is slated as being another small lift to 104 but I don't think this will be enough to...
GBP/USD is down sharply today and has fallen below the 1.11 level for the first time since 1985. In the European session, GBP/USD is trading at 1.1125, down 1.16%. The British pound can't seem to find any love. GBP/USD is looking dreadful, down 2.1% this week and 3.8% in September. The currency hasn't sunk to such levels since 1985 and the strong US dollar could...
As expected, the Bank of England hiked interest rates by 0.50%, bringing the cash rate to 2.25%. There was an outside chance that the BoE would press the rate pedal to the floor and deliver a 0.75% increase, but in the end, members decided unanimously on a less aggressive hike. The central bank is grappling with 9.9% inflation and a falling British pound, which...
The Japanese yen is in positive territory today after starting the week with sharp losses. USD/JPY is trading at 138.22, down 0.34%. Japan releases a host of events on Wednesday, including retail sales and consumer confidence. Retail sales for July is expected to come in at -0.5% MoM, following a 1.4% decline in June. Consumer confidence remains weak, with a July...
Silver is special as it is both an industrial and precious metal. So, let’s look at Silver from both points of view to identify what seems to be dimming the shine on this metal. As a precious metal, we can compare silver with the dollar and yield as both affect the demand for precious metals. Dollar and silver are generally negatively correlated, with a stronger...
The euro has taken a nasty tumble today. In the North American session, EUR/USD is trading at 1.0144, down 0.76%. The energy crisis surrounding Nord Stream 1, a key channel for Russian gas exports to Europe continues to simmer. Perhaps the pipeline should be referred to as 'Nord Brook 1', after Gazprom, the Russian energy giant, warned it will cut flows through...
The Australian dollar has started the trading week with strong gains, extending the upswing from Friday. AUD/USD is trading at 0.6835, up 0.62% on the day. Market risk sentiment has strengthened, courtesy of better-than-expected data out of the US on Friday. Headline retail sales and core retail sales both posted a gain of 1.0% MoM in June, above the forecast and...
Consumer Sentiment is just one tool for investors to use when choosing whether to buy, sell, add, or trim stocks. But it can be a very useful tool, especially when markets are heavily skewed in one direction as they appear to be today. There have only been four (the three breaches during the 08 crisis I count as one) occurrences in the past when the U.S....
The pound has edged higher today, shrugging off soft UK releases. Retail sales for May fell 0.5%, and declined 4.7% YoY, below the estimate of -4.5% (-5.7% prior). It was a similar story for core retail sales, which came in at -5.7% YoY, worse than the forecast of -5.1% (-6.1% prior). The sharp declines in consumer spending should not come as a surprise, given...
The New Zealand dollar is sharply lower on Tuesday. NZD/USD is trading at 0.6261, down 1.14% on the day. New Zealand data has been mixed this week. BusinessNZ Services Index rose to 55.2 in May, up from 52.2 in April. This points to stronger expansion in the services area. However, Westpac Consumer Confidence plunged to 78.7 in May, its lowest level ever...
The week ended with a disappointing US inflation report. Headline inflation in May rose to 8.6% YoY, up from 8.3% in April. Core inflation eased to 6.0%, down from 6.2%, but that was little comfort for the markets, which are showing signs of panic over entrenched inflation. The result was that risk appetite fell, sending the US dollar surging against the major...