Tag Archive: #USD

Trump Administration Modifying Stance on Way to G20

Confrontation with China has been dialed down. Criticism of the Fed has been walked back. There is less talk about the dollar. Employment data has been embraced.

Read More »

FX Daily, March 13: Bonds and Equities Rally, Dollar Heavy

Hit by profit-taking ahead of the weekend, despite US jobs data that remove the last hurdle to another Fed hike this week, the greenback remains on the defensive. It has softened against all the major currencies and many of the emerging market currencies. The chief exception is those in eastern and central Europe.

Read More »

FX Weekly Preview: Succinct Views of Ten Events and Market Drivers: Week Ahead

The week ahead is the busiest week of the first quarter. It sees four major central meetings, including the Federal Reserve which is likely to raise rates for the second time in four months. The Dutch hold the first European election of the year, and the populist-nationalist party remains in contention for the top slot. The week concludes with the G20 meeting, the first that the Trump Administration's presence will be felt.

Read More »

FX Daily, March 10: US Jobs Data: Deja Vu All Over Again?

A week ago, after nine Fed officials had spoken, the market widely expected Yellen and Fischer to confirm that the table was set for a rate hike later this month. They did, and the dollar and US interest rates fell. Now, after a strong ADP jobs report (298k), everyone recognizes upside risk to today’s national report, and the dollar has lost its upside momentum against most major currencies, but the Japanese yen.

Read More »

FX Daily, March 09: Pre-ECB Squaring Lifts Euro in a Strong USD Context

The euro tested the lower of its range near $1.05 in Asia before short covering in Europe lifted back toward yesterday's highs near $1.0575. However, buoyed by the upside surprise in the ADP estimate of private sector jobs growth, the dollar is firmer against most other currencies today. The US 10-year yield is up 20 bp this week.

Read More »

FX Daily, March 08: Dollar Bid as Rates Firm

The US dollar is moving higher against nearly all the other major foreign currencies today. As far as we can tell, the driving force remains interested rate considerations. US rates are rising in absolute terms and about Europe and Japan. The US 10-year yield is moving above the downtrend that has been in place since the day after the Fed hiked rates last December.

Read More »

A Few Thoughts about the US Labor Market

The 94 mln people POTUS claims are not working is true but terribly misleading. What happened to agriculture a century ago is happening to manufacturing. New industries are less labor intensive than smokestack industries.

Read More »

FX Daily, March 07: Greenback Continues to Recover from the Late Pre-Weekend Slide

The US dollar has continued to recover from the slide on what still largely appears to have been a buy the rumor sell the fact response to Yellen's speech just before last weekend. Yellen was the last of around 11 Fed officials that spoke last week, and nearly all but Bullard signaled readiness to hike rates at next month's meeting.

Read More »

FX Daily, March 06: The Dollar Gives Back More Before Consolidating

The US dollar's pre-weekend pullback was extended in early European turnover but appeared to quickly run out of steam. The prospect of a constructive US employment report at the end of the week, especially given the steady decline in weekly initial jobless claims to new cyclical lows, underscores the likelihood that the Fed hikes rates next week. Bloomberg puts the odds above 90%, while the CME estimates a nearly 80% chance.

Read More »

FX Weekly Preview: Four Sets of Questions and Tentative Answers for the Week Ahead

The week ahead features the ECB meeting and the US February jobs report. The Reserve Bank of Australia meets, Europe reports industrial production, Japan reports January current account figures, and China reports its latest inflation and lending figures. We frame this week's discussion of the drivers in terms of four sets of questions and offer some tentative answers.

Read More »

The Resilience of Globalization and the US Dollar

Populism-nationalism is not really a wave sweeping across the world. Where it succeeded was where a center-right party in a two-party system embraced part of the populist agenda. Center-right parties in Europe are not embracing key agenda for populist-naitonalist, but appear to be tacking to the right on domestic issues.

Read More »

FX Daily, March 02: Dollar Remains Bid

The US dollar is bid against the major currencies as the combination the increased expectation of a Fed rate hike and the President's commitment to fiscal stimulus buoys sentiment. The dollar-bloc, where speculators in the futures market, have grown a net long position, are leading the move.

Read More »

Great Graphic: Fed’s Real Broad Trade Weighted Dollar

To begin assessing the dollar's impact on the US economy, nominal bilateral exchange rates may be misleading.  From a policymakers' point of view, the real broad trade weighted measure is more important.  The Federal Reserve tracks it on a monthly basis.

Read More »

FX Daily, March 01: Greenback Bounces, More Fed than Trump

The much-anticipated speech by US President Trump was light on the details that investors interested in, like the tax reform, infrastructure initiative, and deregulation. There appears to be an agreement to repeal the national healthcare, but there is no consensus on its replacement.

Read More »

Beware the Ides of March

Numerous events converge in the middle of March. We still lean toward a May hike rate than March. Wilders may garner a plurality of the vote in the Netherlands, but is unlikely to form a government for want of coalition partners. How will the Republican US Congress and President deal with the debt ceiling?

Read More »

FX Daily, February 28: Markets Little Changed as Breakout is Awaited

The capital markets are becalmed, and the US dollar is in narrow trading ranges. Month-end considerations are at work, but the key event is much-awaited speech US President Trump to a joint session of Congress this evening (early Wednesday in Asia). The hope is that he provides the policy signals that allow the dollar to break out of its recent ranges.

Read More »

The Misplaced Animosity toward Imports

Pity imports, they are misunderstood. Imports create jobs directly and indirectly. Restricting US imports would likely also curb exports.

Read More »

FX Daily, February 27: Asia Stumbles, Europe Recovers, Waiting for Trump

The late recovery in US equities before the weekend did little good for Asian markets. Nearly all the Asian equity markets moved lower, led by the 1.0% decline in Japan's Topix. It was the third successive loss for the Topix, which is the long losing streak of the year so far. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index lost 0.6%, further pushing it off the 17-month high seen last week.

Read More »

FX Weekly Preview: Macroeconomics and Psychology

There is a broad consensus around the macroeconomic picture. The headwinds slowing the US economy in H1 16 have eased, and above trend growth in H2 16 appears to be carrying into 2017. Q4 16 GDP is expected to be revised to 2.1% up from 1.8%. Many economists appear to accept that a good part, though not all, of the decline in the estimated trend growth in the US, is a function of demographic considerations.

Read More »

FX Daily, February 24: Anxiety? What Anxiety?

The US dollar is finishing the week on a mixed note in choppy activity in narrow ranges. It is an apt way to finish this week, which has been largely directionless as investors wait for fresh incentives, and are especially looking toward Trump's speech to a joint session of Congress next week.

Read More »