Tag Archive: $JPY

FX Daily, February 01: Fed’s Hawkish Hold Keeps Dollar Consolidation Intact

2018-02-01

by

2018-02-01

The Yellen Fed ended on a high note. She took over the reins the of Federal Reserve an implemented a strategic normalization process monetary policy, and helped engineer not only the first post-crisis rate hikes but also the beginning of unwinding its balance sheet. Most reckon she has done an admirable job at the Federal Reserve, not only in terms of the economic performance on her watch but also the nimble execution policy.

Read More »

FX Weekly Preview: Market Confusion and New Inputs

2018-01-29

by

2018-01-29

Many investors are confused, and the official communication only fanned the confusion. Before turning to next week’s key events and data, let's first spend some time, working through some of the confusion. There was no change in policy last week. The US did not suddenly become protectionist. It did put tariffs on solar panels and washing machines.

Read More »

Did Mnuchin Signal a Policy Shift Today?

2018-01-27

by

2018-01-27

Did US Treasury Secretary Mnuchin signal a change in the US dollar policy? Probably not. As Mnuchin and President Trump have done before, a distinction was drawn between short- and longer-term perspectives. In the short-term, a weaker dollar says Mnuchin, is good for US trade and "other opportunities". In the longer-term, Mnuchin explicitly acknowledged, "the strength of the dollar is a reflection of the strength of the US economy."

Read More »

FX Daily, January 26: Trump-Inspired Dollar Short Squeeze Fades Quickly

2018-01-26

by

2018-01-26

It was dramatic. Following the BOJ and ECB's rather mild rebuke of dollar's depreciation, US President Trump cautioned that his Treasury Secretary comments were taken out of context, and in ant event, he, the President ultimately favored a strong dollar. The dollar, which had continued fall after Draghi's post-ECB meeting comments, shot higher in the US afternoon in response to Trump's comments.

Read More »

Central Bank Transparency, Or Doing Deliberate Dollar Deals With The Devil

2018-01-25

by

2018-01-25

Hong Kong HKD, Jul 2012 - Jan 2018
The advent of open and transparent central banks is a relatively new one. For most of their history, these quasi-government institutions operated in secret and they liked it that way. As late as October 1993, for example, Alan Greenspan was testifying before Congress intentionally trying to cloud the issue as to whether verbatim transcripts of FOMC meetings actually existed.

Read More »

FX Daily, January 24: Dollar Takes Another Leg Lower

2018-01-24

by

2018-01-24

North American session sold into the dollar's upticks and Asia followed suit, taking the greenback to new multi-year lows against the euro and sterling while pushing it below the JPY110 level for the first time since last September. US trade action has become latest element of the narrative the seeks to explain the dollar's slide and the decoupling of the greenback from interest rates.

Read More »

FX Daily, January 23: Dollar Stabilizes Near Recent Lows

2018-01-23

by

2018-01-23

The US dollar has come back better bid in late Asian activity. The session highlight was the BOJ meeting. BOJ maintained forecasts and policy. There was a small tweak to the inflation assessment, noting that prices were skewed to the downside, and said there was no change in inflation expectations. Last time it has said expectations were weakening. It also reiterated that there was no policy implication to the bond operations.

Read More »

FX Daily, January 22: Dollar Remains Heavy

2018-01-22

by

2018-01-22

The US dollar closed last week on a firm note, but it has been unable to build on its gains to start the new week. News that Germany's SPD agreed to enter formal negotiations with Merkel's CDU/CSU alliance saw the euro open in Asia around a half a cent higher. However, sellers emerged near $1.2275 but seemed to lose their nerve as the pre-weekend low near $1.2215 was approached.

Read More »

FX Daily, January 18: Currencies Consolidate After Chop Fest

2018-01-18

by

2018-01-18

The US dollar rallied in the North American afternoon yesterday and the timing coincided with the release of the Fed's Beige Book that saw several districts report wage and price pressures. The US 10-year yield moved toward toward 2.60%, and helped by speculation that as US companies repatriate earnings kept abroad that they may have to liquidate the investments, some of which are thought to be in Treasuries.

Read More »

FX Daily, January 17: Dollar Stabilizes After Marginal New Lows

2018-01-17

by

2018-01-17

After a shallow bounce in Asia and Europe yesterday, the dollar slipped lower in North American yesterday. Asia was happy to extend those dollar losses, and the greenback was pushed to marginal new lower in Asia, but has come back in the European session. The next result is a choppy but flattish consolidation compared with last week's closing prices.

Read More »

FX Daily, January 16: Dollar Given a Reprieve

2018-01-16

by

2018-01-16

After extending its recent slide yesterday, which the US markets were on holiday, the dollar is firmer against all the major currencies and most of the emerging market currencies. There does not seem to be macroeconomic developments behind the dollar's stabilization, and the gains are quite minor, suggesting a pause in the downtrend rather than a reversal at this juncture.

Read More »

FX Daily, January 12: Euro Jumps Higher

2018-01-12

by

2018-01-12

There is one main story today and it is the euro's surge. The euro began the week consolidating it recent gains a heavier bias, but the record of last month's ECB meeting surprised the market with its seeming willingness to change the forward guidance early this year in a more hawkish direction. This spurred a 0.7% gain in the euro back above $1.20. The euro stayed bid in Asia, but took another leg up (~0.75%) in response to reports that a...

Read More »

Is the BOJ Tapering?

2018-01-12

by

2018-01-12

The G3 central banks are in flux. The Federal Reserve is gradually raising rates and allowing the balance sheet to shrink by not fully reinvesting the maturing proceeds. The ECB will purchase half as many bonds in the first nine months of 2018 as it did in the last nine months of 2017.

Read More »

FX Daily, January 11: Capital Markets Calmer, Greenback Consolidates

2018-01-11

by

2018-01-11

As market participants were just getting their sea legs back after the start of the year, it was hit by a one-two punch of ideas that BOJ policy was turning less accommodative and that Chinese officials were wary of adding to their Treasury holdings. Then late yesterday, a news wire reported that Canada suspected the US was going to withdraw from NAFTA.

Read More »

FX Daily, January 10: Yen Short Squeeze Extended

2018-01-10

by

2018-01-10

Sparked by fears that the BOJ took a step toward the monetary exit by reducing the amount of long-term bonds it is buying, there is an apparent scramble to cover previously sold yen positions. The dollar finished last week near JPY113.00. It fell to about JPY112.35 yesterday, near the 50% retracement of the greenback's bounce from the late-November lows near JPY110.85.

Read More »

FX Daily, January 09: Dollar Correction Extended

2018-01-09

by

2018-01-09

The US dollar's upside correction that began before the weekend has been extended in Asia and Europe today. The main exception is the Japanese yen. The yen's modest gains have been registered despite the firmness in US rates and continued advance in equities; both factors associated with a weaker Japanese currency.

Read More »

FX Daily, January 08: Dollar Posts Modest Upticks to Start the New Week

2018-01-08

by

2018-01-08

The US dollar is enjoying modest but broad-based gains after trading firmly at the end of last week despite the slightly disappointing jobs report. The dollar's upticks are understood to be corrective in nature. The Canadian dollar appears to be protected by the increased prospects of a rate hike next week after its stellar employment report.

Read More »

FX Weekly Preview: Accommodative Officials and Synchronized Upturn Drive Markets

2018-01-08

by

2018-01-08

The investment climate is being shaped by two powerful forces. First is the very accommodative policy stance. This includes the United States, where despite delivering the fifth rate hike in the cycle, adjusted by headline CPI, remains negative. The balance sheet has begun being reduced, financial conditions in the US are easier now than a year ago.

Read More »

FX Daily, January 05: Dollar Given Reprieve Ahead of Employment Report

2018-01-05

by

2018-01-05

As the US dollar finished last year, so too did it begin the New Year, and after extending its losses, the bears have paused. Technical factors had been stretched, but it appears to have been old-fashioned macroeconomic considerations to have helped the dollar to move off the mat. Quickly summarized, these considerations are a larger than expected Australian trade deficit, slippage in Japan's service sector PMI, a larger than expected drop in the...

Read More »