On Wednesday, the USD/JPY pair declined by 1.5% following the Bank of Japan’s surprise quarter-point rate hike—the second such hike since 2007. Japanese interest rates are now above zero for the first time since September 2010.Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve (Fed) maintained rates during its July meeting, as expected. Fed Chairman …
Read More »BoJ Preview: No policy change, another tweak to YCC probable
On October 31, the Bank of Japan is scheduled to hold its Monetary Policy Committee meeting. Researchers and economists predict that policy won’t change, but opinions on whether to make another adjustment to Yield Curve Control (YCC) will differ. The benchmark 10-year JGB yield is getting close to reaching its …
Read More »Gold’s destiny in x USD bulls’ hands, NFP data
At $1,875, the gold price has been pressured and is trading not far from the lows of the day down at $1,872.54, losing some 0.34%. Gold fell from a high of $1,909.82 as the US dollar rebounded on Thursday, moving in on the 20-year highs reached last week, as per …
Read More »Market Drivers – US Session – 28 April
The Dollar Index (DXY), a trade-weighted basket of major USD currency pairs, surpassed its 2017 highs to come within a whisker of hitting 104.00, its highest level since December 2002. This was primarily a result of a steep sell-off in the yen that launched USD/JPY to fresh multi-decade highs of …
Read More »Market Drivers – US Session – 26 April
Forex trade was again dominated by risk-off on Tuesday, with the safe-haven yen and US dollar’s outperforming, as US equities cratered. Investors and traders cited everything from economic and military tensions between Russia and the NATO to China lockdown risk and worsening global growth expectations in addition to the anticipated …
Read More »Market Drivers – US Session – 31 March
The euro tumbled on Thursday as investors fretted about rising EU-Russia economic tensions after Russian President Vladimir Putin doubled down on a demand that European nations pay for Russian gas in roubles, exacerbating fears that Russia might block energy exports to the EU bloc. This, coupled with a generalized paring …
Read More »Market Drivers – US Session – 30 March
Financial markets on Wednesday remained focused on the the continued weakening of the US dollar, where the DXY dropped a further 0.6% to the 97.80s, where it now probes mid-March lows more than 1.5% below earlier weekly highs. Economic DataPrivate sector employment in the US rose by 455,000 in March, …
Read More »NZD/USD Retreats From Daily Highs Despite Russia Troop Withdrawal
The NZD/USD pair extends to four days of losses in the North American session, courtesy of the financial markets’ risk-off environment since Friday. At the time of writing is trading at 0.6605.Risk appetite is back so far. Updates crossing the wires that some Russian troops are returning to the base …
Read More »The Dollar Keeps Resilient After NFP-Inspired Rebound
The US dollar is staying resilient against its rival currencies at the start of the week following Friday’s rebound, which was fueled by the upbeat January US jobs report.There will not be any high-tier macroeconomic data releases on Monday and major currency pairs are likely to move sideways. US stock …
Read More »Risk-Sensitive Currencies Survive Market Mood
Markets were hit by a wave of risk aversion on Monday, benefitting the safe-havens and hurting the risk-sensitive currencies, though the latter group had pared back on much of their earlier underperformance by the end of US trade as risk appetite recovered.Market commentators said that geopolitical concerns about the rising …
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