Category Archive: 4) FX Trends
FX Daily, August 17: The Dollar Softens to Start the New Week
The capital markets are looking for direction. Asia Pacific equity markets were mixed, with gains in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan countering losses in Japan, South Korea, and Australia. European and US shares are trading slightly firmer.
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August Survey Data and Beyond
Economists are often lampooned because of their inability to forecast changes in the business cycle. But the pandemic helped them overcome the challenge this time. A record contraction in Q2 was anticipated before in March. Similarly, economists generally expected the recovery after the March-April body blow.
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FX Daily, August 14: Consolidation Featured Ahead of the Weekend
The equity rally is stalling ahead of the weekend. Most markets in the Asia Pacific region eased, though China and Australia advanced. Japanese shares were mixed. The Nikkei, though advanced for the fourth consecutive session, while the Topis slipped.
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FX Daily, August 13: Dollar Remains Offered
The poor price action on Tuesday in the S&P 500 was shrugged off, and new highs for the recovery were made as the record high nears. The dollar, on the other hand, seemed to find plenty of sellers against most of the major currencies. The yen was a notable exception.
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FX Daily, August 12: Dollar was Sold in Asia and Europe, but is Poised to Bounce in North America
The biggest rise in the US 10-year yield in a couple of months, as the record quarterly refunding, got underway may have helped stabilize the dollar after an earlier decline. The S&P 500 threatened to extend its advance for the eighth consecutive session yesterday, but a late sell-off stopped it cold after scaling to new five-month highs.
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FX Daily, August 11: Gold and the Dollar are Sold while Stocks March Higher
A rotation of sorts seems to be unfolding. The euro posted its second back-to-back loss in over a month. The Canadian dollar, which has been an under-performer among the major currencies for the past six weeks, gained, while most fell.Â
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Speculative Positioning in Selected Currency Futures
With the media playing up the US dollar's negatives, one would think speculators are short the greenback like there is no tomorrow. Yet a review of the Commitment of Traders report that covers the week through last Tuesday, August 4, shows that this is not really the case.
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FX Daily, August 10: Monday in August
Overview: The new week has begun slowly with Singapore and Tokyo markets closed for national holidays. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 2% last week and edged higher today, led by 1.5%-1.7% rallies in South Korea and Australia. Hong Kong was a notable exception and eased around 0.6%.
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The Ant and the Grasshopper: A Window into Macro Part II
Regardless of the dollar's role and function in the world economy and the halls of finance, in the near and intermediate terms, investors and businesses are more concerned with foreign exchange prices.  The greenback has fallen out of favor. Its main supports, like wide interest rate differentials, favorable growth differentials, and political certainty if not stability, have weakened.
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FX Daily, August 07: Position Adjustment Dominates ahead of US/Canada Employment Reports
Escalating dramas may be behind the position adjustment today ahead of the US jobs data. The US and China feud expanded beyond Tiktok to WeChat, and efforts to tighten disclosure rules for Chinese companies listed in the US are nearing. The negotiations between the White House and the Democrats broke down, preventing or at least delaying additional stimulus.Â
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FX Daily, August 06: Markets Consolidate
The Australian dollar powered to marginal news highs for the year as the move against the US dollar continued yesterday. The euro stopped a few hundredths of a cent below the high seen at the end of last week. However, neither sustained the upside momentum and have come back offered today.
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FX Daily, August 5: Corrective Pressures in the FX Market Prove Short-Lived
The drop in US yields to new lows amid paralysis in Washington, except apparently over a lip-syncing app's threat to US national security, sent the dollar back to its lows after a modest recovery in early North American trading yesterday.Â
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FX Daily, August 4: Markets Looking for Fresh Directional Cues
Asia Pacific equities rallied after the US shares rallied with the Nasdaq reaching record highs after it and the S&P 500 gapped higher yesterday. Japan and Hong Kong led the rally with more than 2% gains, while the Shanghai Composite lagged with about a 0.1% gain.
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August Monthly
The dollar's losses accelerated in July, and further declines are likely even if there is short-lived bounce to correct the over-extended technical condition. We have been arguing for a year that the third significant dollar rally since the end of Bretton Woods was over, but the disruption of the global capital markets in March gave the old bull market one more push.
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FX Daily, August 3: Stronger EMU PMIs Fail to Recharge the Euro’s Upside Momentum
Overview:Â The capital markets are decidedly mixed today as investors are pulled between rising infections, heightened tensions between the US and China, lack of progress on new US stimulus, and technical forces as the new month begins.
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FX Daily, July 30: Greenback’s Bounce is Likely Short-Lived
A wave of profit-taking is seen through most of the capital markets today, with the exception of the bond market, where yields continue to trend lower. The US 10-year is now yielding 55 bp, a new low since early March, and the five-year yield set a new record low near 23 bp. European yields are 2-4 bp lower.
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FX Daily, July 29: Greenback Slips Ahead of the FOMC
Global equity markets are stabilizing today, and the dollar is once again on its back foot. Chinese markets led a mixed regional performance with a 2%-3% gain, while South Korea and Hong Kong markets also advancing. The strength of the yen appears to weigh on Japanese shares.
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FX Daily, July 28: Dollar Bounces, Gold Slips, while Equities Hold Their Own
The main development in the capital markets today is the firmer dollar against nearly all the major and emerging market currencies. Among the majors, the New Zealand dollar and Swedish krona are the heaviest (~-0.4%), while the Swiss franc and yen are marginally lower.
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FX Daily, July 27: Dollar Slide Continues, while Gold Soars
The US dollar's dramatic sell-off continues. It is off against nearly all currencies. Among the majors, the Swedish krona and Japanese yen are leading the money, and the euro surged through $1.17. Emerging market currencies are fully participating, with the JP Morgan Emerging Market Currency Index posting its fifth gain in six sessions.
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Cool Video: Gold and the Dollar
I have been talking with Neils Christensen, editor at Kitco news, for several years about the dollar, gold, and my read of the capital markets more broadly. We had a chance to discuss recent developments yesterday. I began my career at a small newswire, and Kitco reminds me of it.
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