Forex Previews

Fed minutes – Uncertainty over Fed policy helps dollar rebound

Posted on April 9, 2015 at 9:25 am GMT

The minutes from the Fed’s March policy meeting were closely examined by the market for signals on when interest rates in the United States will likely go up – a question that is one of the main focuses of financial markets currently. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) met on March 17-18 and removed reference to “patience” from its statement in tightening monetary policy. The minutes showed a Fed that was divided, as on the one hand “several” FOMC participants [..]

Yen Rises Against Dollar Following BoJ Decision to Keep Monetary Policy Unchanged

Posted on April 8, 2015 at 12:21 pm GMT

The Bank of Japan kept its monetary policy unchanged on Wednesday at its April 8 meeting. At the end of the two-day meeting, policymakers voted 8-1 to continue to increase the monetary base by 80 trillion yen a year through purchases of government bonds, a quantitative easing (QE) program that was launched two years ago in April 2013 and was upwardly revised in October of 2014. The no-change decision was widely expected, although an increase in asset purchases by the [..]

RBA keeps rates unchanged, aussie rises 1% versus dollar

Posted on April 7, 2015 at 9:43 am GMT

On Tuesday, the Reserve Bank of Australia kept interest rates on hold at 2.25% at its April 7 meeting. The decision surprised many economists who had expected a further cut of 25 basis points. In his statement, the Governor Glenn Stevens said that “further easing of policy may be appropriate over the period ahead, in order to foster sustainable growth in demand and inflation consistent with the target”. This raises expectations that the RBA may cut rates in May. Although [..]

Weak US employment report hurts dollar

Posted on April 6, 2015 at 10:59 am GMT

The US economy added 126k jobs in March, which is less than the consensus estimate of 245k. In a sign of further weakness fpr Q1 GDP, the previous month’s figure was revised lower to 264k from the initial estimate of 295k. The job figures for January and February were revised down by a combined total of 69,000 jobs. The weaker than expected economic figures were attributed to the severe winter weather across the US in the first few months of [..]

Week Ahead – Fed minutes and central bank meetings will attract attention post-Easter

Posted on April 3, 2015 at 1:19 pm GMT

The coming week will be starting on a quiet note as the major markets in Europe will be closed for the Easter break. This includes Germany, France and the UK, as well as Australia and New Zealand in Asia. The main data coming out on Monday, April 6 is the ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI in the US, although a speech by the Bank of England Governor Mark Carney will also be interesting to watch for any possible changes to the Bank’s [..]

Quarterly review: US dollar, yen post strong gains as euro lags in Q1

Posted on April 2, 2015 at 2:21 pm GMT

The first quarter was noticeable for some very sharp currency moves, as the US dollar posted significant gains and the euro crashed. Many pundits rapidly revised their euro / dollar forecasts lower to eye parity and beyond. The focus was on the ECB’s plan to buy government bonds, while the Fed was preparing to raise interest rates. The depreciating euro was the weakest major currency in the first quarter of 2015 as it lost around 11% of its value against [..]

Forex News – Chinese manufacturing PMI rises in March beating forecasts

Posted on April 1, 2015 at 8:27 am GMT

China’s factory sector showed more activity in March according to a Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) survey. The index unexpectedly rose from February’s 49.9 to 50.1 in March according to data released on Wednesday by the National Bureau of Statistics in China. The data suggested that stimulus measures used by the Chinese government have been helping bolster the manufacturing sector in the world’s second largest economy. The March figure defied forecasts for a drop to 49.7. A figure above 50 denotes [..]

Eurozone inflation in line with forecasts at -0.1% y/y

Posted on March 31, 2015 at 10:07 am GMT

Eurostat released inflation data for the Eurozone, showing a slight easing in consumer prices in March on a year-on-year basis. The decline in the headline number was marginal, which may give some relief to the European Central Bank as it is trying to fend off deflation in the euro area with its quantitative easing program. The ECB recently launched a bond buying program of 1.1 trillion euros that is expected to last until September 2016. The annual rate of inflation [..]

Yellen sounds cautious on raising rates too quickly

Posted on March 30, 2015 at 8:58 am GMT

Fed Chair Janet Yellen struck a cautious tone during a speech late on Friday at a San Francisco Federal Reserve event, stressing that although interest rates would need to rise at some point this year, she saw a “gradual” rise for them after that. Yellen repeated the latest message by Fed speakers that a judgement would be taken at each separate meeting of the board and that the central bank would not embark on a series of predetermined rate hikes such as [..]

Forex News – Week ahead: Nonfarm payrolls, Fed speakers, Eurozone inflation and unemployment before Easter

Posted on March 27, 2015 at 1:47 pm GMT

The coming week will feature some excitement as well as much-needed rest for market participants, as a number of key economic indicators will be released before a number of markets closes for the Easter holiday break. The highlight of next week will doubtless be the nonfarm payrolls numbers and unemployment rate out of the United States on Friday. Friday will also be Good Friday and as a result many European markets will be on holiday, resulting perhaps in thin market [..]

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