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Forex News – RBA holds monetary policy unchanged; lowers market’s rate cut expectations

Posted on February 7, 2017 at 2:33 pm GMT

The Australian central bank held its main cash rate steady at a record low 1.50 percent today in its first monetary policy meeting for 2017. The move was as expected and as a result the interest rate has remained unchanged since the 25-basis point cut at the August meeting. The Reserve Bank of Australia signaled it remains upbeat on the global growth outlook but noted that some uncertainties remain. As far as the domestic economy is concerned, it was positive [..]

Week Ahead – RBA and RBNZ meetings eyed in quiet data week

Posted on February 3, 2017 at 4:35 pm GMT

Central bank meetings in Australia and New Zealand will come into focus next week in an otherwise muted seven days for economic data. Industrial output and trade data from Germany and the UK will also be eyed, while Canadian employment figures will be watched too. Clouded outlook for RBA rates The Reserve Bank of Australia will meet on Tuesday for its first policy meeting of 2017. It is expected to keep rates unchanged at the current record low of 1.50% [..]

Forex News – Gain in US jobs overshadowed by fall in annual wage growth; dollar falls

Posted on February 3, 2017 at 3:45 pm GMT

The much-anticipated US jobs report for January was released today but the strong headline nonfarm payrolls number failed to lift the dollar. After a knee jerk reaction to the upside, the greenback saw a big tumble against the yen. Despite the gain of 227,000 jobs in the US economy in January, the market focus was elsewhere – on average hourly earnings, which were lower. The increase in payrolls followed a 157,000 gain in December and beat forecasts for an increase [..]

Forex News – Sterling hit by Bank of England promise to keep low interest rates

Posted on February 2, 2017 at 4:07 pm GMT

The Bank of England released today its first interest rate decision as well as economic forecasts of the year, followed by a press conference by Governor Mark Carney. Sterling fell sharply from a pre-announcement seven-week high against the dollar. The BoE held its key rate at a record-low 0.25 percent as expected and by a unanimous vote by the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). It also left its bond-purchase programs unchanged, by agreeing to halt purchases of government bonds at £435 billion and a [..]

Forex News – Aussie hits 12-week high on record trade surplus

Posted on February 2, 2017 at 12:09 pm GMT

The Australian dollar shot higher on Thursday after Australia’s trade surplus hit a record in December. Data released earlier today showed Australia recorded a trade surplus of A$3.51 in December, topping estimates of A$2.20 billon. It compares with an upwardly revised figure of A$2.04 billion in November when Australia posted its first surplus since March 2014. The surplus was driven by a 5.3% jump in exports during the month, while imports rose by a more modest 0.7% rate. The data [..]

Forex News – Fed holds rates; Avoids signalling March hike but more confident on inflation

Posted on February 1, 2017 at 8:49 pm GMT

The Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee (FOMC) kept interest rates unchanged on Wednesday at the first policy meeting of the year and the first since Donald Trump took office as US President. The decision was widely expected given that the Committee had only raised rates in December by 25bps to a target range of 0.50-0.75%. The language of today’s FOMC statement was largely similar to recent meetings’ but there were a few notable changes, in particular, with regards to inflation. [..]

Forex News – Sterling jumps above $1.26 on Manufacturing PMI, Brexit debate in UK Parliament in focus

Posted on February 1, 2017 at 2:22 pm GMT

Sterling found some support after UK’s Markit/CIPS Manufacturing PMI matched expectations in January, coming in at 55.9 versus December’s 56.1. The headline number may have been slightly below December’s 2 ½ year high but the index has remained well above the key mark of 50.0 for six straight months, which indicates healthy expansion in the sector. Today’s data indicate solid growth in the UK in January but factories saw input costs rise. Since the Brexit vote in June of last [..]

Forex News – Eurozone growth and inflation accelerate, putting pressure on ECB

Posted on January 31, 2017 at 2:10 pm GMT

Inflation, unemployment and GDP figures out of the Eurozone today pointed to an improving economic picture across the region, fuelling speculation that the European Central Bank could start reining in its asset purchases sooner than expected. Euro area inflation jumped to a 4-year high in January, according to Eurostat’s flash estimate for the month. Annual CPI rose from 1.1% year-on-year in December to 1.8% in January, beating estimates of 1.6%. The increase in the headline rate was mainly driven by [..]

Week Ahead – BoJ, Fed and BoE meet amid rising inflation; NFP and Eurozone flash GDP also eyed

Posted on January 27, 2017 at 5:04 pm GMT

Central bank meetings will dominate a packed week as investors await for clues on policy direction, while a flurry of key data releases will also keep markets on edge. The US non-farm payrolls report and the flash estimate of Eurozone GDP will likely be the main highlights in terms of data. But political developments with President Trump and Brexit could also impact trading in a week where many Asian markets will be closed for the Lunar New Year celebrations. Bank [..]

Forex News – New Zealand inflation gets back within RBNZ’s target band; Kiwi reverses earlier gains

Posted on January 26, 2017 at 4:19 pm GMT

Today saw the release of New Zealand inflation data for the final quarter of 2016. The figures were stronger than expected and helped lift the New Zealand dollar to a 2½-month high against the US dollar. Specifically, consumer prices rose during the fourth quarter of 2016 by 0.4% quarter-on-quarter and by 1.3% year-on-year. Analysts’ forecasts were for a 0.3% q/q and 1.2% y/y increase. The kiwi was immediately boosted by the data as it rose by about half a percent [..]

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