Daily Market Analysis

European Session – Dollar extends gains on strong inflation and retail sales data

Posted on February 15, 2017 at 4:06 pm GMT

Today was a busy day in terms of economic data with major releases from the US and UK grabbing investors’ attention for the most part. On top of that, Federal Reserve chair, Janet Yellen, continued with her second day of testifying before US Congress as scheduled. The annual US headline inflation reading came in at 2.5% for January, the fastest pace in five years. It was up from a previous 2.1% and beat forecasts for a 2.4% increase. Higher gasoline prices [..]

Asian Session – Dollar holds firm after hawkish Yellen

Posted on February 15, 2017 at 8:35 am GMT

The US dollar held onto gains after a strong rally on Tuesday following comments made by Fed Chair Janet Yellen. In her semi-annual testimony before the Senate Banking Committee in Washington DC, Yellen signaled to the markets that the US central bank could raise interest rates as soon as at its next policy meeting in March. The tone of her pre-prepared speech was more on the hawkish side and this helped drive the greenback higher. The dollar index ,which measures the [..]

European Session – Yellen signals rate hike at upcoming meetings; Dollar rallies

Posted on February 14, 2017 at 4:20 pm GMT

In stark contrast to Monday, today was filled with economic data releases from the US, Eurozone and the UK, while by late European session all eyes were fixed on the first of two days during which Fed Chair Janet Yellen will testify before Congress. US producer prices rose in January, driven by higher gasoline costs. The producer price index jumped 0.6 percent month-on-month from a prior 0.2 percent increase and was well above forecasts for a 0.3 percent increase. Meanwhile, [..]

Asian Session – US dollar weak on Flynn resignation and caution ahead of Yellen testimony

Posted on February 14, 2017 at 8:14 am GMT

The US dollar was weak across the board in today’s Asian session in reaction to headline news that US national security adviser Michael Flynn resigned after allegations of having inappropriate links with Russian officials before President Trump took office. Flynn is accused of illegally discussing US sanctions with the Russian ambassador to the US. He failed to disclose the full extent of his conversations with Russian officials and there are concerns that he was giving signals to Moscow that Donald [..]

European Session – Trump-Abe meeting calms markets, sets positive backdrop for dollar

Posted on February 13, 2017 at 3:12 pm GMT

Today was an extremely quiet day in terms of economic data and as a result the market’s focus remained fixed on what the meeting between US President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during the weekend might mean for the future. The approach taken by President Trump during the meeting resembled the US’s traditional foreign policy stance of strong ties with Japan while, according to reports, Trump made no comments of currency manipulation on the part of Japan [..]

Asian Session – Yen weakens after softer GDP data out of Japan

Posted on February 13, 2017 at 8:18 am GMT

The yen weakened immediately after the release of Japan’s fourth quarter GDP report which showed growth of 0.2 per cent quarter-on-quarter, missing estimates of 0.3 per cent growth. The data suggested the Bank of Japan will likely leave its monetary policy unchanged for a longer period of time. The GDP figure came in lower despite a boost to exports from a weaker Japanese currency. The softer yen helped the dollar rise to a two-week high of 114.16 in early Asian [..]

European Session – Political uncertainty in Europe; Canadian dollar jumps on strong jobs report

Posted on February 10, 2017 at 4:04 pm GMT

Today was a relatively quiet day in terms of economic data with the markets still focusing on US President Donald Trump’s remarks on making a major tax announcement soon and political uncertainty in the euro area. The University of Michigan preliminary index of US consumer sentiment indicated a slight drop in February. The index printed a three-month low of 95.7, missing estimates for a reading of 97.9. The February reading was lower than January’s more-than-a-decade high of 98.5. Overall the [..]

Asian Session – Gold under pressure as dollar firms on Trump tax pledge; China trade surplus widens

Posted on February 10, 2017 at 8:21 am GMT

The strength of the dollar followed through from yesterday’s US session on President Donald Trump’s tax pledge. Meanwhile, upbeat trade data out of China showed signs of stability in the world’s second largest economy, helping lift risk appetite in today’s Asian markets. In January, the figures were strong on both exports and imports in China. Exports jumped 7.9 per cent year-on- year in dollar terms, beating forecasts, while imports rose by 16.7 percent, also beating estimates. The trade surplus widened [..]

European Session – Dollar surges above 113 yen on Trump tax comments

Posted on February 9, 2017 at 4:05 pm GMT

The yen fell back on Thursday as yesterday’s risk aversion ebbed slightly, although the recent uncertainty generated from Trump’s policies, the French elections and Brexit continued to weigh on market sentiment. The US dollar recovered from its earlier low of 111.70 yen to hit a European session high of 113.19 yen following the release of stronger-than-expected jobless claims out of the US and an announcement on taxes by the US President. Weekly jobless claims fell to a fresh 43-year low [..]

Asian Session – Kiwi tumbles after RBNZ; euro pressured by European political woes

Posted on February 9, 2017 at 8:16 am GMT

The Kiwi was in focus in today’s Asian session as the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) announced its decision to leave rates on hold at a record low of 1.75 percent. This was no surprise but the central bank signaled that inflation remained subdued and any tightening in policy might be at least two years away. In a statement, RBNZ Governor Graeme Wheeler said a decline in the exchange rate is needed. The New Zealand dollar fell sharply against [..]

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