Daily Market Analysis

European Session – Euro and pound firmer as dollar slips back below 112 yen

Posted on February 8, 2017 at 4:08 pm GMT

Markets remained mired in risk-off mood in Wednesday’s European session as global uncertainty regarding Trump’s presidency, European elections, Brexit and the Greek debt crisis all weighed on risk sentiment. The US dollar found itself back below 112 yen as the Japanese currency benefited from safe-haven demand and the yields on US Treasury Notes fell. The greenback was struggling around 111.90 yen in late European session in the absence of any major data release out of the US today. The euro [..]

Asian Session – Euro under pressure on concerns of French election, Greek debt

Posted on February 8, 2017 at 8:36 am GMT

There is a cautious mood in the markets as focus has turned to political risks in Europe and the United States. With little major economic data after the strong US payrolls data, attention is now on the looming election in France. Meanwhile, the Greek debt crisis is back in the picture. The euro has been sliding since early this month due to political wrangling in France, where presidential candidates have been plagued by scandals. Additionally, there are concerns that the [..]

European session – Dollar reasserting its dominance; Political uncertainty weighing elsewhere

Posted on February 7, 2017 at 4:10 pm GMT

Today was a relatively quiet day in terms of economic data, strong dollar performance didn’t go unnoticed though as the greenback posted significant gains against most other currencies. Today’s move could mark a return to the solid dollar gains recorded after the Trump election victory as market participants seem to be shifting attention from President Trump’s protectionist remarks to his pro-growth fiscal measures and Fed rate hiking, both of which support a stronger dollar. The dollar index, a measure of [..]

Asian Session – Aussie briefly rises after RBA holds rates; kiwi jumps on inflation expectations

Posted on February 7, 2017 at 8:18 am GMT

The antipodean currencies were in focus in today’s Asian session due to news headlines out of the region. The Reserve Bank of Australia announced its policy decision to hold rates while inflation expectations in New Zealand were up. The aussie rose against the greenback after experiencing some volatility soon after the RBA policy decision and oscillated in a range of half of 1 percentage point during the session. It eventually reached a session high of $0.7680 before reversing back down [..]

European Session – Euro under pressure on French election concerns; Dollar stays mixed after NFP

Posted on February 6, 2017 at 4:03 pm GMT

The euro came under pressure on Monday as French election jitters led to a sell-off in French government bonds while the dollar was struggling for direction following Friday’s non-farm payrolls report. Uncertainty about the French election unsettled investors in European trading today as pressure grew on France’s conservative presidential candidate, Francois Fillon, to quit the race. It follows allegations that his wife was paid by the state for work she never did and comes amid ongoing strong support for the [..]

Asian Session – Aussie hurt by weak retail sales numbers; USD steadies after post-jobs data

Posted on February 6, 2017 at 8:13 am GMT

The US dollar dipped below Friday’s post-nonfarm payrolls low against the yen in Monday’s Asian session before steadying. Elsewhere, the greenback made gains, especially against the aussie which fell after weak Australian retail sales data. Australia reported an unexpected drop in retail sales for December 2016, with the month-on-month figure slipping 0.1 percent. This follows a rise of 0.1 percent seen in November and missed expectations for a 0.3% increase. The aussie fell versus the greenback after the data and [..]

European session – Dollar slips despite solid jobs report

Posted on February 3, 2017 at 4:17 pm GMT

There was an abundance of important economic data out today. In the US all eyes were on the non-farm payrolls jobs report, the first under President Trump, while the ISM non-manufacturing PMI and factory goods orders were also of significant interest. We had important PMI releases from the UK and the Eurozone as well. The much-anticipated US jobs report today showed a gain of 227,000 jobs in the US economy for January, which followed a 157,000 rise in December and [..]

Asian Session – Yen slips on BOJ bond buying, dollar steady ahead of jobs data

Posted on February 3, 2017 at 8:03 am GMT

Central banks moved the markets in Friday’s Asian session, ahead of the much anticipated US nonfarm payrolls report later in the day. The yen swung wildly in reaction to the Bank of Japan’s move to control rising Japanese bond yields. In an unscheduled operation, the BOJ bought an unlimited amount of bonds at a fixed rate in an effort to cap yields and maintain a five-month old policy of holding 10-year debt at around zero percent. The BOJ’s action resulted [..]

European session – Pound plummets as BoE in no hurry to raise rates; Dollar extends Fed losses

Posted on February 2, 2017 at 4:34 pm GMT

Market participants’ attention shifted for the most part to the UK today as the Bank of England meeting on monetary policy and subsequent press conference by BoE Governor Mark Carney took place. The BoE’s Monetary Policy Committee unanimously decided to maintain its key rate at the record low of 0.25%. No changes were made to its bond-buying program either, while the Bank was more upbeat in both the prospects of the job market and its growth forecasts, upwardly revising its [..]

Asian session – US dollar on back foot following Fed statement; aussie helped by trade numbers

Posted on February 2, 2017 at 8:46 am GMT

The US dollar was under some pressure during Thursday’s Asian session as the Fed statement from the previous day underwhelmed the market. The dollar index sunk to a 2 ½ -month low following the Fed statement, which showed little urgency on behalf of the rate-setting committee to raise rates. The Fed’s decision to hold rates was unanimous and a no-change verdict was widely expected by market participants. The Fed was upbeat on US economic prospects regarding both growth and inflation. [..]

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