RBA Left Cash Rate Unchanged at 1.5%, Content with Aussie Depreciation
RBA left the cash rate unchanged at 1.5% for a 21st meeting in July. The outcome had been widely anticipated. Indeed, the market has expected no interest rate adjustment at least until late 2019. As a result, market reaction outcome was rather muted.
On the global economic development, RBA acknowledged...
Has China Given Green light to Renminbi Selloff?
Weakness in renminbi has accelerated recently, driven by Donald Trump’s new list of tariff against China announced in mid-June, PBOC’s RRR cut and the jump in risk aversion over the Chinese market. USDCNY’s rally of more than +4% over the past two weeks has raised speculations about China’s retaliation...
Yen and Dollar Strong on Asian Market Rout, Aussie Steady after RBA
After initial selloff, the US markets staged an impressive rebound overnight. DOW hit as low as 24077.56 but reversed to close at 24307.18, up 0.15%. S&P 500 gained 0.31% while NASDAQ rose 0.76%. However, investor sentiments turned sour again in Asian session as China leads decline again. At the...
Dollar Stays Strong as Sentiment Turns Sour Again on Trump’s Trade Spats
Risk aversions dominate the markets today starting from China, spreading to Asia and Europe. Escalation of trade tensions is the main driving force as the Section 301 tariffs and China's retaliation are set to come to effect this week on July 6. After his threat to impose auto tariffs,...
Dollar Regains Ground as Markets Prepare for an Eventful Week
Dollar strengthens broadly in Asian session, followed by New Zealand Dollar and Japanese yen. On the other hand, Australian Dollar is the weakest, followed by Canadian Dollar and the Euro. But after all, major pairs and crosses are bounded in Friday's range. Movements are so far very limited. Weakness...
Traders Reduced Bets on USD on Profit-taking after Recent Price Rally
As suggested in the CFTC Commitments of Traders report in the week ended June 26, bets for US dollar trimmed on both sides as the DXY index rose to a one-year higher on June 21. Speculative long positions for USD Index (DXY) futures added +586 contracts while shorts added +432...
Traders Increased Bets for Higher Oil Prices after Uneventful OPEC Deal
According to the CFTC Commitments of Traders report for the week ended Jun 26, net LENGTH for crude oil futures jumped +44 144 contracts to 625 091. Net LENGTH for heating oil futures dropped -4 104 contracts to 47 146 while that for gasoline fell -2 065 contracts to 95...
Dollar Rally Halts after a Solid Quarter, Stays Bullish on Trade Tensions
Canadian Dollar ended last week as the strongest one. Strength in oil price, with WTI hitting four-year high was a factor. Solid Canadian GDP and Business Outlook Survey also support a July BoC hike. Euro followed as the second strongest as markets cheered EU agreement on migration during the...
Euro to End the Month on a Strong Note, Inflation Data Couldn’t Help Dollar
Euro continues to trade as the strongest one for today as boosted by the EU leader's agreement on immigration. While the common hasn't been the star this month, it's indeed up against all but Dollar. European stocks investors are also happy with the result. At the time of writing,...
Euro Cheers EU Agreement on Migration, Yen Dives as Chinese Stocks Rebound
Euro surges broadly today as traders cheer the agreement by EU leaders on migration. Australian Dollar follows as the second strongest as Chinese stocks lead a strong rebound in Asian equities. At the time of writing the Shanghai composite is up 1.2%, Hong Kong HSI is up 1.15% while...
Sterling Downside Breakout Against Dollar and Euro, Risk Aversion Stays
Risk aversion continue to be a main theme in the markets, ahead of quarter end. At the time of writing, major European indices are trading in red. DAX leads again by losing -1.27%, CAC down -0.76% and FTSE down -0.44%. DOW futures also point to more losses. Oil prices...
Huge Decline US Oil Inventory Sent WTI Crude to Highest Level since 2014
Both oil benchmarks rallied for two days in a row. The front-month WTI crude contract has obviously outperformed, accumulating gains of 6.7% over the past two days. The Brent contract added +3.8% during the period. WTI's rally was driven by the sharp decline in US oil inventory.
The report from...
RBNZ More Dovish in June Meeting
RBNZ left the OCR unchanged at 1.75%. While the central bank reiterated its “neutral” monetary policy stance, the accompanying statement revealed that policymakers have turned slightly more dovish than previous months. The members were concerned about global trade tensions and the resulting financial market volatility. They also acknowledged more...
Dollar Stays Strong after Roller Coaster Ride in Stocks
It was a roller coaster ride in US stocks overnight. The markets cheered Trump's backing down on the hard-line position on curbing Chinese investments in US companies. But White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow spoiled the party said the plan is neither harder nor softer. NASDAQ led the losses...
Dollar and Stocks Cheer as Trump Backs Down on Chinese Investments
Dollar ignores mixed economic data and surges broadly, except versus Canadian in early US session. Sentiments are generally lifted by news that Trump is backing down again on his tough stance on curbing Chinese investments, after backfires from businesses and Republicans. The mixed messages from White Houses are also...
Rising Rates Not Going to Derail Hong Kong Property Market, Weakening Chinese Economy Might
Although Hong Kong dollar (HKD) had approached the weak side (7.85) of the trading band against US dollar (USD) in May and June, after HKMA’s intervention in April, the gap between HIBOR and LIBOR has narrowed significantly since then. Through buying HKD and selling USD, HKMA’s numerous rounds of...
Markets Getting Comfortably Numb on Trade Spats
The forex markets are generally in range today except New Zealand Dollar, which tumbles broadly following business confidence data. The US continued to step up its verbal attack on trade partners, but the financial markets are not too bothered about it. Asian indices are mixed with Nikkei trading nearly...
Forex Markets Staying Corrective Despite Trade Spat Escalations
The stock markets are rather steady today so far even though US continues with its tariff threats on other countries. At the time of writing, European indices are mixed with DAX nearly flat while CAC is up 0.2%. FTSE is indeed registering 0.5% again thanks to the slightly weaker...
Global Stocks Down as White House Sent Confusing Messages on Foreign Investment Curb, Yen Strong
Trade tension and protectionism remain the major theme in the financial markets. Following the selloff in US stocks, Asian indices are generally under pressure today. At the time of writing, Nikkei is trading down -0.52%, Hong Kong HSI is down -0.88%. China's Shanghai composite extends recent steep slide and...
Euro Lifted as German Ifo Marginally Beat Expectation, But Yen Still the Strongest on Trade Threats
Yen remains the strongest one for the day, as risk aversion dominates. Commodity currencies, Australia, New Zealand and Canadian Dollar remain the weakest. But some additional strength is seen in Euro as German Ifo business confidence came is not too badly. At the time of writing, FTSE and DAX...