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Subdued Core CPI and Contraction in Imports Suggest It Takes Time to Revive China’s Domestic Demand

Headline CPI moderated to +2.4% y/y in August, from +2.7% a month ago. High base and softened growth in food inflation was the key reason for the slowdown. Food price rose +11.2% y/y, decelerated from +13.2% in July. This was mainly driven by the sharp moderation of pork inflation...

Euro Vulnerable Against Dollar and Yen as Risk Aversion Intensifies

Yen remains generally firm as Asian session as deep risk aversion carries forward from US markets. Concerns over coronavirus vaccine development was a major factor weighing on sentiments. Dollar turns softer, digesting yesterday's gains, but remains generally firm. Sterling continues to trade as the weakest one and selloff is...

Risk Aversion Comes Back on Tech Rout, No-Deal Brexit

Risk aversion is back in the markets today. On the one hand, US stocks are set to open sharply lower as they return from holiday. Tech rout is continuing with NASAQ futures down more than -3% at the time of writing. On the other hand, no-deal Brexit worries intensify...

Dollar Firm But No Breakthrough Yet, Except Versus Swiss Franc

Sterling remains generally weaker today, on Brexit concerns. But Swiss Franc is apparently worse for now, dropping through a near term support level against the greenback. On the other hand, Yen and Dollar stay firm in mixed Asian markets. Yen is not too troubled by data that showed deeper...

Pound Decline Accelerates on Brexit Risks, Yen and Dollar Firmer

Sterling's decline gathers some momentum on resurfacing no-deal Brexit risk. The Pound is currently followed by New Zealand Dollar as the second weakest. Canadian Dollar is the third worst performing so far, follow oil price lower. On the other hand, Yen and Dollar and trading firmer today, despite rebound...

Gold Pressured by Better Data, Stronger USD and Yields

Gold price slashed more than 1.8% last week. Reasons for the selloff include better-than-expected US employment report, recovery in US dollar and rebound in Treasury yields. Gold's correction from the peak has lasted for a month with over 6% of loss. More optimistic news about economic recovery and the...

Sterling Mildly Lower on Brexit, Dollar Eyes ECB For Next Move

Markets are rather quiet in Asian session today and trading could remain subdued ahead with US and Canada on holiday. Sterling is generally lower on Brexit news but losses are so far limited. Canadian Dollar is dragged down slightly by oil prices but it has been very resilient so...

CFTC Commitments of Traders – Traders to Bet Lower Crude Oil Prices on Cloudy Demand Outlook

According to the CFTC Commitments of Traders report for the week ended September 1, NET LENGTH for crude oil futures declined further, by -9 784 contracts to, 490 915 for the week. Speculative long position fell -6 429 contracts, but shorts rose +3 355 contracts. NET Length is expected...

CFTC Commitments of Traders – Net Short of USD Index Futures Shrank as the Greenback Recovered to One-Week High

As suggested in the CFTC Commitments of Traders report in the week ended September 1, NET SHORT for USD Index futures dropped - 1 027 to 6 746 contracts. Speculative long positions added +766 contracts and short positions slipped -261 contracts. NET SHORT could shrink further in the coming...

Dollar Down Trend, Stocks Up Trend Still Intact after Roller-Coaster Ride

Markets experienced a roller-coaster ride in the first week of September. S&P 500 and NASDAQ extended record runs and it looked like DOW was on the way for a catch-up. Then technology stocks led a steep selloff towards the end of the week and pulled all indices sharply lower....

Dollar Rises after NFP, Gold Breaks Trend Line Support

Dollar rises against European majors an Yen as headline non-farm payrolls number came in not far from expectation. Encouragingly, unemployment rate dropped notably while participation rate also rose. Wage growth also some what picked up. DOW future also point to a mildly higher open. The greenback is set to...

Dollar to End Week as Strongest, Subject to NFP Reactions

Asian markets are generally in red following the steep corrective selloff in the US overnight. The forex markets are relatively steady though, with Dollar and Yen trading with a firm tone. Australian and New Zealand Dollars are the weakest ones, followed by Sterling. Over the week, Dollar is set...

ECB Preview – Warning about Euro Strength with No Action Needed

ECB is expected to maintain the monetary policy measures in September. The focuses on the meeting include policymakers’ response to the recent strength in euro, the updated economic projections and ECB’s strategy review after Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s announcement at the Jackson Hole symposium. While euro’s appreciation over the...

Dollar Supported as Jobless Claims Dropped to 881k, Swiss Franc Rebounds

Dollar's rebound continues in early US session as positive response to better than expected jobless claims data. For the moment, Swiss Franc is the second strongest, followed by Euro, and both surges against the weak Sterling. Commodity currencies follow as the next weakest, as gold and oil soften. Yen...

Dollar Firm as Rebound Continues, Yen Following

Dollar stays firm as recovery continues while Yen is following as the second strongest. While US stocks continued their record run overnight, Asian markets are generally in red outside of Japan. As for today, Euro is currently the worst performing, followed by Sterling, and then Australian Dollar. Focuses will...

WTI-Brent Crude Spread Widened Markedly on US Demand Concerns, Offsetting Inventory Draw

Crude oil prices plunged more than -2% on profit-taking. The front-month WTI contract settled at US$41.51/bbl, lowest since August 7. The front-month Brent contract fell to US$44.43/bbl, lowest since August 21, at close. WTI-Brent spread widened to US$ 2.92/bbl. The correction came in despite sharp draw in US inventory....

Dollar Extending Corrective Recovery, ADP Job Disappointment Ignored

Dollar remains generally firm into US session as corrective recovery continues. Much weaker than expected ADP job data is ignored by traders. US stocks are also set to open higher with S&P 500 and NASDAQ extending the record runs. Australian Dollar is currently the weakest one, extending its correction...

Aussie Down on GDP Contraction, Dollar Recovers ahead of More Data

Australian Dollar tumbles broadly today and it's trading as the weakest one so far. The decline partly follows worse than expected Q2 GDP data, and partly as profit taking on recent strong rise. Selloff against New Zealand Dollar the latter to be the strongest one. On the other hand,...

Sharp Rise in Manufacturing PMI Signals that PBOC will Keep the Powder Dry for the Month

China's manufacturing PMI (by Caixin) rose to almost a decade high of 53.1 August, from 52.8 a month ago. This indicates that China’s manufacturing activities have been expanding over the past 4 months and the rebound has accelerated. The accompanying report noted that output and new orders showed biggest...

Sterling Surges With Euro, Swiss Franc Tumbles, Dollar Mixed

Sterling overtakes Euro as the strongest currency for today, as cross buying against the latter resumes after brief consolidation. However, Swiss Franc is clearly left behind and it's trading as the worst performing one. Rallies in Gold and Silver are a factor pressuring the safe haven Franc. Yen is...