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Forex News – Eurozone inflation slightly misses expectations; ECB unlikely to be moved

Posted on April 30, 2014 at 1:09 pm GMT

The April flash inflation estimate came in at 0.7% year-on-year on Wednesday, up from the previous month’s 0.5% final reading but slightly lower than the 0.8% economists were expecting. The relative rise in Eurozone inflation looked to be mainly the result of base effects. Energy prices were declining by a 1.2% annual pace in April compared to a 2.1% drop in March, whereas services inflation climbed to 1.6% compared to a more moderate 1.1% pace the previous month. Therefore it [..]

Forex News – small miss in UK GDP figures causes sterling to correct

Posted on April 29, 2014 at 10:22 am GMT

Since the middle of summer of 2013, sterling has been in a strong uptrend versus the dollar on signs that the UK economy was recovering quicker than expected and that unemployment was also dropping faster than anticipated. Unemployment dropped by nearly 1% during 2013, from 7.9% to 6.9% The quarterly GDP growth rates of the past 4 quarters have been around 0.7-0.8%, which taken together at 3.1% represents the best annual economic growth rate since the final quarter of 2007; [..]

Forex News – Japanese retail sales rose sharply in March ahead of sales tax hike

Posted on April 28, 2014 at 12:26 pm GMT

Retail sales data from Japan showed an increase of 11 percent in March on a year-on-year basis, compared to the same month a year ago. While the figure was in line with forecasts, it was the fastest pace of increase in 17 years, since March 1997. Sales volumes jumped as a result of Japanese consumers increasing their shopping before the April 1st national sales tax hike. Sales figures for April are expected to decline in the immediate aftermath of the [..]

Forex News – Week ahead: action-packed with Fed decision, Nonfarm payrolls, UK GDP and Eurozone flash inflation

Posted on April 25, 2014 at 10:07 am GMT

The week ahead will be busy for foreign exchange market participants, despite the 1st of May celebration on Thursday that is honored as a public holiday in many countries around the world. There will be important economic events for the United States, the Eurozone and the United Kingdom that will likely cause significant moves in contrast to the low volatility that has been witnessed before and after the Easter holiday. The week’s most important event will clearly be the Federal [..]

Forex News – Reserve Bank of New Zealand hikes rate to 3%, could raise more

Posted on April 24, 2014 at 9:44 am GMT

[caption id="attachment_16068" align="alignnone" width="555"] (Source: Thomson Reuters)[/caption] The Reserve Bank of New Zealand increased its key Central Bank Interest Rate on Thursday, bringing it up to 3%. It was the second month in a row that the country’s central bank hikes rates by a quarter-point, following the March 13 increase to 2.75% from 2.50%. The decision was well expected but the accompanying statement seemed to indicate that the bank would probably continue raising interest rates. The RBNZ acknowledged that dairy [..]

Forex News – Week ahead: Draghi speech, US durable goods data in focus

Posted on April 22, 2014 at 1:01 pm GMT

The new trading week is shorter due to the Easter holiday break which meant a lot of major markets were closed around the world on Monday. There will be some economic data releases this week which will attract investors’ attention and hopefully create more volatility in the forex markets which were relatively quiet before the long weekend. Last week, the dollar regained its strength against most of its major counterparts after being boosted by US data which helped increase optimism [..]

Forex News – UK unemployment drops below 7%, sterling rallies

Posted on April 16, 2014 at 12:37 pm GMT

In the aftermath of the financial crisis, unemployment has become a key variable that central banks watch in deciding about interest rates. This trend reached a climax when forward guidance was used, that is tying changes in monetary policy to specific levels of the unemployment rate. Forward guidance – particularly in the UK and the US – was dropped in recent months in favor of more broad criteria of economic slack. However, unemployment will still probably remain key for policymakers [..]

Forex News – UK inflation remains below BOE target at 4-year lows

Posted on April 15, 2014 at 10:39 am GMT

The headline UK inflation rate for March was released today, indicating a drop to the lowest level in four years. This marks the third consecutive month inflation has been below the Bank of England’s 2% target rate. Lower fuel and food prices were the main factors pushing the consumer price index (CPI) down to 1.6% year-on-year, the lowest since October 2009. This was in line with expectations but lower from the previous reading of 1.7% for the February year-on-year rate. [..]

Forex News – Strong US Retail Sales for March help boost dollar

Posted on April 14, 2014 at 2:01 pm GMT

News that retail sales rose a higher-than-expected 1.1% month-on-month rate during March was welcome news for the US consumer. Economists had expected the month-on-month increase to be 0.8%. Adding to the good news was the prior month’s substantial revision from 0.3% to 0.7% month-on-month. It was the strongest month-on-month increase for retail sales in 1 ½ years. Increases in furniture purchases and clothing stores were particularly encouraging. Some economists also attributed the strength in the figures to pent-up demand as [..]

Forex News – Busy week ahead with Chinese GDP, US retail sales, Yellen speeches and UK unemployment

Posted on April 11, 2014 at 11:47 am GMT

Next week will be relatively busy in terms of economic data and central bank events and this should help create a lively trading environment. The week’s most important number will be released on Wednesday; Chinese GDP growth for the first quarter. China is one of the first countries that announce its GDP figures so soon after the end of the quarter and the numbers will be closely scrutinized for signs of a slowdown. Economists of course do expect a slowdown [..]

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