Forex Previews

Fed holds rates but more upbeat on US jobs market; dollar gains

Posted on April 27, 2016 at 7:33 pm GMT

The Federal Reserve Open Market Committee announced its decision after a two-day meeting on Wednesday, to keep interest rates unchanged. As was widely expected, the Fed funds rate (overnight lending rate) was left in a range of 0.25% to 0.5%, when they were last raised in December 2015 by 25 basis points. That was the first rate hike after almost a decade. The vote to hold rates was not unanimous though. One member of the FOMC, Esther George, voted against [..]

Aussie plummets 2% after surprise drop in Australian inflation

Posted on April 27, 2016 at 10:46 am GMT

The Australian dollar fell sharply against major currencies on Tuesday after an unexpected drop in Australia’s quarterly CPI rate renewed expectations of a rate cut by the country’s central bank. Consumer prices in Australia declined by 0.2% on a quarter-on-quarter basis in the first three months of 2016, missing expectations of a 0.3% increase. On an annual basis, CPI was up 1.3% – the lowest in a year. It compares with forecasts of 1.8% and a rate of 1.7% in [..]

US durable goods orders miss estimates; dollar dips

Posted on April 26, 2016 at 2:24 pm GMT

Durable goods orders in the United States rose by less than expected in March as orders for manufactured goods that are meant to last three years or more failed to rebound strongly from the February slump. The month-on-month measure of durable goods showed orders rising by 0.8% in March, missing consensus estimates of a 1.8% increase. Adding to the disappointing headline figure was a negative revision to February’s reading, which was revised down to -3.1% from -3.0%. March orders were [..]

IFO index misses estimates, shows German economy steady; euro unmoved

Posted on April 25, 2016 at 10:09 am GMT

The release of the German IFO business confidence index for April was the main economic news piece of the European session. There was a slight drop in the current conditions index, but a rise in the business expectations component. Taken together, this resulted in a slight drop of the headline business climate index, as the drop in current conditions was a little more serious than the rise in expectations. Following a significant drop in expectations during January and February – [..]

Week Ahead – Fed and BoJ to set the tone; RBNZ and preliminary GPD also eyed

Posted on April 22, 2016 at 12:44 pm GMT

It will be a busy seven days in the coming week as the Fed and the Bank of Japan hold their respective monetary policy meetings. The US and Japan will also dominate the economic calendar with some key indicators expected next week, while UK GDP, Eurozone flash inflation and the RBNZ’s policy meeting will also be watched. Eurozone inflation in focus post ECB German Ifo data will start the week on Monday and after this week’s disappointing Markit PMI surveys, [..]

ECB keeps policy unchanged; Draghi on the defensive of ECB measures

Posted on April 21, 2016 at 3:02 pm GMT

The European Central Bank concluded its two-day policy meeting today by keeping monetary policy unchanged. The move was widely expected given the comprehensive measures announced at the Bank’s last meeting in March when it cut all its main rates and expanded its bond buying program by €20 billion a month. In the accompanying statement, the ECB maintained that the risks to the outlook for growth remain to the downside. But it pointed to an improvement in financing conditions as a [..]

US housing recovery steadies in Q1 in line with economy

Posted on April 21, 2016 at 1:04 pm GMT

The US housing market has been on a steady recovery path since the end of the financial crisis as the economy continues to grow at a moderate pace. Housing in the United States contributes to around 18% of GDP, through private residential investment and via related consumption spending on housing services. With recent data suggesting that the US economy went through a soft patch in the first three months of the year, the housing market also saw some mixed numbers [..]

UK jobs market running out of steam as unemployment unexpectedly ticks up

Posted on April 20, 2016 at 11:57 am GMT

The number of people out of work in Britain rose unexpectedly in the three months to February, amid signs that the UK labour market may be losing some steam. It was the first time since July 2015 that the jobless total had risen. The number of unemployed people rose by 21k to 1.7 million in the three months to February, though the jobless rate remained steady at 5.1% for the fourth month in-a-row, in line with estimates. Despite the increase [..]

Antipodean currencies soar to 10-month highs as risk appetite returns

Posted on April 19, 2016 at 11:53 am GMT

The Australian and New Zealand dollars soared to 10-month highs on Tuesday as risk appetite made a strong return on steady oil prices. Crude oil prices rebounded sharply on Monday after starting the day 6-7% lower following the failure of major oil producers on Sunday to agree to a freeze in output. Commodity prices have been recovering from their January/February lows, led by a rally in oil prices that was mainly driven by expectations that major oil producers such as [..]

Oil prices stabilize but outlook bleak after producers fail to agree output freeze

Posted on April 18, 2016 at 10:19 am GMT

Crude oil prices were stable on Monday after opening sharply lower following unsuccessful talks in Doha on Sunday to cap output. Eighteen OPEC and non-OPEC nations met in the capital of Qatar yesterday to try to reach an agreement on a possible production freeze that would have lent support to oil prices, which have tumbled around 75% since mid-2014. Oil prices rallied 60% from their 2016 lows after major producers consisting of Saudi Arabia, Russia, Venezuela and Qatar announced a [..]

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