The Federal Reserve has raised rates by 50 bps as expected and seems open to further hikes. QT program launch and its potential ramp-up make the dollar scarcer. What most market participants see as most important, is the Fed comment on inflation: it is still high, “owing to supply and …
Read More »Breaking: Fed hikes rate by 50 bps
The US Federal Reserve announced on Wednesday that the FOMC had agreed to raise the target range for the federal funds rate by 50 basis points to 0.75% to 1%, in line with expectations. The US Dollar Index turned south with the initial reaction to the Fed’s policy announcements and …
Read More »Could ADP Data Threaten Fed’s Rate Hikes?
When markets participants feel worried about recession, all US data is suspicious. Hot inflation erodes household income. Producer prices are even higher than retail. In the US, where nearly all goods move by truck, diesel fuel hit an all-time record, ensuring inflation will be higher in April and May than …
Read More »European Central Bank Preview
For the ECB, the latest Eurozone data provide a discomforting combination of record-high inflation and slow first-quarter growth. The level and widespread nature of the former are forcing the central bank to act, and markets are now pricing in 90 bp of rate hikes this year, although the latter provides …
Read More »USD/CHF Hits Fresh Highs Ahead Of Fed Decision
The Swiss franc accumulates losses for the nine-consecutive trading session. US equities fluctuate between gainers and losers as risk appetite wobbles. The USD/CHF rallied and reached a two-year high at around 0.9839 as traders prepared for the monetary policy decision of the Federal Reserve. At 0.9829, the USD/CHF retraced from …
Read More »Does Fed Know Where To Stop Hikes?
The US central bank is to notch up on Wednesday its efforts to withdraw the stimulus it showered on the US economy after the pandemic upended global economies two years ago. Fed officials are expected to raise the benchmark rate by a half percentage point and approve plans to start …
Read More »US supply issues, inflation weighed on ISM services
Data released on Wednesday showed the ISM Service Sector dropped unexpectedly to 57.1 in April. Analysts at Wells Fargo point out that while supply remains a problem for service-producers, a pullback in demand and hiring were the top factors weighing on activity during the month. Key Quotes: “Activity in the …
Read More »Canada’s energy trade surplus at an all-time high in March
Canada registered another trade surplus in March, although below expectations: CAD 2.49 billion vs CAD 3.90 billion. Analysts at the National Bank of Canada highlight the trade surplus with the US reached a fresh record high. Key Quotes:“For the ninth time in the past ten months, Canada’s trade balance remained …
Read More »ISM Services PMI falls below expectations
The headline ISM Services Purchasing Manager’s Index (PMI) fell to 57.1 in April from 58.3 in March, below expectations for a slight rise to 58.5, according to the latest release by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM). Subindices: The Business Activity Index rises to 59.1 from 55.5 in March. The …
Read More »Gold falls with an imminent rates hike
Gold prices fell on Wednesday, with the increase in the yield on US Treasury bonds and an imminent hike in the interest rate, which negatively affected the demand for the precious metal. Spot gold prices fell 0.1% to $865.31 an ounce by 00:40 GMT. US gold futures fell 0.2% to …
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