Tag Archive: inflation

Measuring Inflation and the Week Ahead

2021-07-12

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2021-07-12

There is quite an unusual price context for new week's economic events, which include June US CPI, retail sales, and industrial production, along with China's Q2 GDP, and the meetings for the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, the Bank of Canada, and the Bank of Japan.

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FX Daily, July 09: PBOC Cuts Reserve Requirements after Inflation Measures Ease

2021-07-09

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2021-07-09

The capital markets are winding down what has been a challenging week that has seen equity markets slide and the dollar and bonds rally. The MSCI Asia Pacific fell for the fourth consecutive session, but the more interesting story may be the intrasession recovery that could set the stage for a better performance next week.

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Bond Reversal In Japan, But Pay Attention To It In Germany

2021-07-09

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2021-07-09

Japanese Gov't Bond Yields, Jan 2016 - Jul 2021
Yield curve control, remember that one? For a little while earlier this year, the modestly reflationary selloff in bonds around the world was prematurely oversold as some historically significant beginning to a massive, conclusive regime change.

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ISM’s Nasty Little Surprise Isn’t Actually A Surprise

2021-07-07

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2021-07-07

U.S. ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI, Employment, Jan 2017 - May 2021
Completing the monthly cycle, the ISM released its estimates for non-manufacturing in the US during the month of June 2021. The headline index dropped nearly four points, more than expected. From 64.0 in May, at 60.1 while still quite high it’s the implication of being the lowest in four months which got so much attention.

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Anyone Remember That Whole SLR Cliff?

2021-07-02

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2021-07-02

UST Yield Curve
Does anyone remember the SLR “cliff?” Of course you don’t, because in the end it didn’t seem to make any difference. For a few weeks, it was kind of ubiquitous if only in the sense that it was another one of those deep plumbing issues no one seems able to understand (forcing all the “experts” to run to Investopedia in order write something up about it).

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FX Daily, June 30: The Greenback is Firm into Quarter-End

2021-06-30

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2021-06-30

The dollar is finishing the quarter on firm footing, gaining against most of the major currencies today. The euro is straddling the $1.1900 area, having begun the month above $1.22. Sterling has tested the $1.38 area. It had traded at a three-year high near $1.4250 at the start of the month.

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A Clear Balance of Global Inflation Factors

2021-06-30

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2021-06-30

Europe HICP and Germany HICP, Jan 2007 - May 2021
Back at the end of May, Germany’s statistical accounting agency (deStatis) added another one to the inflationary inferno raging across the mainstream media. According to its flash calculations, German consumer prices last month had increased by the fastest rate in 13 years.

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FX Daily, June 29: Fear that the Mutating Virus Could Slow Recoveries Takes a Toll on Risk Appetites Ahead of Quarter-End

2021-06-29

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2021-06-29

Fear that the new mutation of the covid virus will slow the global recovery has sent ripples across the global capital markets. The foreign exchange market has the clearest reaction, and the dollar is bid.

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Inflation Isn’t Just The Outlier, The Inflation In It Is, Too

2021-06-29

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2021-06-29

PCE Deflator Fed, Jan 2017 - June 2021
Following the same recent pattern as the BLS and its CPI, the Bureau of Economic Analysis’s (BEA) PCE Deflator ran up hotter in May 2021 than its already high increase during April. The latter’s headline consumer basket rose 3.91% year-over-year, its fastest pace since August 2008.

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Is Gold Still in a Bull Market?

2021-06-26

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2021-06-26

Today Gareth Soloway, Chief Market Strategist of InTheMoneyStocks.com talks about his technical analysis of gold and silver as well as giving us insights in to the recent moves in Bitcoin and the stock markets. Recent comments from the Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell indicated that they may need to raise rates in 2023 (2 years away!). This is primarily due to the continued excessive money printing fueling a surge in inflation. Inflation is...

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Sure Looks Like Supply Factors

2021-06-23

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2021-06-23

CME Random Length Lumber Futures, Jan 2020 - Jun 2021
If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, then it must be inflationary overheating. Or not? As more time passes and the situation further evolves, the more these recent price deviations conform to the supply shock scenario rather than a truly robust economy showing no signs of slowing down.

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The FOMC Accidentally Exposes Itself (Reverse Repo-style)

2021-06-18

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2021-06-18

UST Yield Curve, Mar 2021 - Jun 2021
Initially, the dots got all the attention. Though these things are beyond hopeless, the media needs them to write up its account of a more fruitful monetary policy outcome because markets continue to discount that entirely.

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Copper Corroding PPI

2021-06-17

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2021-06-17

Copper Futers, Continuous Frn Month, Jan 2002 - May 2021
Yesterday, lumber. Today, copper. The “doctor” has been in reverse for better than two months now, with trading in the current session pounding the commodity to a new multi-month low. Down almost $0.19 for the day, an unusual and eye-opening loss, this brings the cumulative decline to 9.2% since the peak way back on May 11.

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Another Round of Transitory: US Retail Sales & (revised) IP

2021-06-16

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2021-06-16

U.S. Retail Sales, Jan 2016 - May 2021
Same stuff, different month. We can basically reprint both what was described yesterday about supply curves not keeping up with exaggerated demand as well as the past two months of commentary on Retail Sales plus Industrial Production each for the US. Quite on the nose, US demand for goods, anyway, is eroding if still artificially very high.

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The Inflation Emotion(s)

2021-06-10

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2021-06-10

The Real GDP Problem, Jan 1988 - 2021
Inflation is more than just any old touchy subject in an age overflowing with crude, visceral debates up and down the spectrum reaching into every corner of life. It is about life itself, and not just quality. When the prices of the goods (or services) you absolutely depend upon go up, your entire world becomes that much more difficult.

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FX Daily, June 01: CNY Softens after PBOC’s Move; Equities Advance on Stronger World Outlook

2021-06-01

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2021-06-01

The US dollar fell against most major currencies following the PBOC's modest move to reduce the upward pressure on the yuan. Follow-through selling was seen earlier today, and sterling reached a new three-year high. However, the dollar found a bid in the European morning, while the Scandi currencies held on to most of their earlier gains.

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FX Daily, May 31: China Raises Reserve Requirement for FX, Stemming the Yuan’s Rise

2021-05-31

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2021-05-31

US and UK markets are closed for holidays today, contributing to the rather subdued price action today. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rallied two percent last week, the most in three months, and most markets began off the week with modest gains. Japan, Australia, and Singapore, for notable exceptions.

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Inflation risk takes center stage – Part II of II

2021-05-31

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2021-05-31

A lot of people might be aware of historical cases of hyperinflation, like that of Hungary and the Weimar Republic, or even contemporary ones, like that of Venezuela. And yet, these are taught or reported like extreme cases, very far removed from the daily experience of most modern Western citizens.

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Inflation risk takes center stage – Part I of II

2021-05-27

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2021-05-27

Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve been seeing more and more mainstream headlines about inflation fears being on the rise, both in the US and in Europe. Central bankers on both sides of the Atlantic have been doing their best to assuage these concerns, promising that they have everything under control and that the situation will without a doubt normalize soon.

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FX Daily, May 20: Market Stabilize after Yesterday’s Tumultuous Session

2021-05-20

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2021-05-20

US equity indices finished lower, but the real story was their recovery. Asia Pacific equities were mixed, with Australia's 1.5% rally leading the recovery in some markets, including Tokyo and Singapore. Europe's Dow Jones Stoxx 600 is up a little more than 0.5% near mid-session, led by information technology and industrials, while energy and financials lagged with small gains.

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