February marked the seventh straight month in which inflation outpaced income, raising doubts about consumer spending stamina, explained analysts at Wells Fargo commenting personal income and spending data released on Thursday. Even with inflation at a 40-year high, the 0.4% drop in real spending in February might be overstating the …
Read More »USD/JPY Steadies Ahead of the BOJ’s Bond-Buying Wrap-Up, Subdued US GDP
The USD/JPY pair is hesitating in a narrow range of 121.32-122.24 as a broad-based buying in the Japanese yen is likely to over after the conclusion of the unlimited bond-buying program by the Bank of Japan. The four-day bond-buying program of the BOJ will conclude on Thursday. To curtail the …
Read More »Ahead of NFP Data, Bond Market Signaling Recession Warning
Everybody in the US and beyond is talking about the yield curve inversion. At one point yesterday the yield on the 2-year Treasury briefly traded above that of the 10-year. Historically, such an inversion has been an accurate predictor of a recession, typically within two years.Though these inversions in the …
Read More »US ADP Employment Expectations As Job Creation Slows Down
While yield curve flattens, US ADP payrolls are expected at 438K in March, NFP at 475K. US yield curve is flattening, tolling the bells and ringing recession alarm amid 50-bps Fed’s rate hike bets next May.Fed Chair Powell believes the labour market is strong enough, recession seems unlikely, but could …
Read More »US job openings Retreat In February
US job openings inched lower last month to retreat only modestly from a record high, and vacancies still far outpaced new hires as employers struggled to bring back more sidelined workers.Though vacancies decreased in the latest survey, the data have been volatile and have yet to show a sustainable trend …
Read More »US Consumer Confidence Surges In March
US consumer confidence bounced back in March and remains high, though consumers’ short-term outlook is not promising.The Conference Board, a business research group, said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index, which takes into account consumers’ assessment of current conditions and their outlook for the future, rose to 107.2 in March …
Read More »US Equities Rally For Best One Week Gain Since November
US equities are higher for a fourth session, with the S&P 500 breaking to its highest levels since Russia invaded Ukraine. The index is trading in the 4430s, up 0.6% on the day and over 5.5% on the week. That would mark the best week of gains since November 2020.US …
Read More »EUR/USD Retreats Amid Euro Profit Taking
After a strong week, the euro is suffering from some profit-taking and EUR/USD has fallen back to the mid-1.10s. EUR/USD’s failure to press higher beyond the 1.1100 level was likely also due to hawkish Fed commentary.Though not the worst-performing currency in the G10 on the day, the euro currently sits …
Read More »Will BoE Hike Interest Rates To Pre-Covid Level?
On Thursday, March 17 at 12:00 GMT, the Bank of England will announce its decision and as markets get closer to the release time, the British central bank is widely expected to raise the benchmark interest rate by 25 bps from 0.50% to 0.75%, marking a lift-off for a third …
Read More »Powell: If required, Fed will hike interest rates as fast as practically possible
Fed Chair Jerome Powell said in his post-FOMC meeting press conference on Wednesday that the Fed will move interest rates higher as quickly as it practically can and will move rates beyond the neutral rate if required. We will not let high inflation become entrenched, he said. Key remarks:“Nothing in …
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