EUR/USD has posted considerable gains in the Friday session. Currently the pair is trading at 1.1877, up 0.67% on the day. On the release front, German Final GDP gained 0.6%, matching the estimate. German Ifo Business Climate ticked lower to 115.9, beating the forecast of 115.5 points. In the US, durable goods reports were mixed. Core Durable Goods Orders improved to 0.5%, edging above the estimate of 0.4%. However, Durable Goods Orders declined 6.8%, weaker than the estimate of -6.0%. At the Jackson Hole meeting of central bankers, Janet Yellen has concluded her speech, and ECB President Mario Draghi will follow later today. The euro gained ground after Yellen’s speech, and traders should be prepared for some volatility after Draghi’s remarks.
It’s Day 2 of the Jackson Hole Symposium, and the markets heard from Janet Yellen earlier in the day. Yellen opted not to discuss US monetary policy, which was not a major surprise, but still disappointed the markets nonetheless, and the euro responded with strong gains. Yellen instead chose to discuss financial reforms, saying that measures put in place in 2007 and 2009 had been effective, adding that future reforms should remain modest. Her comments come at a time when President Trump is looking into wide-ranging reforms in the finance industry. Trump has complained that the financial sector is over-regulated and is hampering businesses.
The Fed has not provided much guidance in recent weeks as to its plans regarding interest rates, and Janet Yellen did not address the issue in her speech at Jackson Hole. A December rate hike remains on the table, but the Fed policymakers have sounded lukewarm about another hike in 2017, and the odds of a rate hike in December remain below 50%. One of the principal impediments to rate hike is inflation, which remains at stubbornly low levels. This, despite solid economic growth and a labor market that is close to capacity.
