Market Update

European Central Bank Governing Council member Ignazio Visco has added his voice to heated discussions on when the ECB will begin to raise its benchmark interest rate.Rates in the Eurozone have been negative following the region’s sovereign debt crisis, and the ECB has confirmed that it will conclude its net …

Recession is generally defined by two consecutive quarters of economic shrinking. The US economy squeezed by 1.4% in the first quarter of 2022, so it would only take another one to have an official downturn. Not so fast – not a recession, nor the dollar. The US economy grew by …

The relentless USD buying pushed USD/CAD to a fresh multi-week high on Thursday. The disappointing release of the US GDP capped the upside for the USD and spot prices. Softer crude oil prices, aggressive Fed rate hike bets support prospects for further gains.The USD/CAD pair trimmed a part of its …

There were 180,000 initial claims in the US economy in the week ending on 23 April, in line with consensus estimates and a slight decline from last week’s 185,000 reading which was revised up from 184,000, according to data released by the US Department of Labour on Thursday. That meant …

The annualized pace of US real GDP growth in Q1 2022 came in at a negative 1.4%, according to data released by the US Bureau of Economic Analysis on Thursday. That was a big miss on expectations that the economy had grown at an annualized pace of 1.4% in Q1 …

The dollar rose against the yen above 130 yen on Thursday for the first time since 2002, after the Bank of Japan maintained its commitment to ultra-loose monetary policy, while the euro briefly fell below $1.05. There was some speculation in the market that the BoJ might pull back a …

Russia’s aggression in Ukraine is causing enormous suffering. It is also affecting the economy, in Europe and beyond. The conflict and the associated uncertainty are weighing heavily on the confidence of businesses and consumers. Trade disruptions are leading to new shortages of materials and inputs. Surging energy and commodity prices …

Japanese stocks rose on Thursday after the Bank of Japan renewed its commitment to ultra-accommodative monetary policy and investors were relieved that no surprises would negatively affect the stock market. The Nikkei index rose 1.75 percent at the close, recording 26,847.90 points, the largest daily increase since April 13, after …

Russia’s annual inflation accelerated to 17.70 percent as of April 22, the highest level since early 2002, and up from 17.62 percent a week ago, due to sharp price hikes amid Western sanctions, the Russian Economy Ministry said on Wednesday. Prices of just about everything, from vegetables and sugar to …

The Bank of Japan was expected and has maintained its key interest rates at today’s meeting, continuing to defend low rates with bond-buying but is uber dovish and pessimistic in its guidance. The yen is now pushed above 129 the figure toughing a 20-year high and that is where it …