Thanks to recent slew of data on economic growth and a decline in US Treasury yields, the price of gold is stable around $2034 per ounce. Concerns about policy easing from the Fed and mixed US economic data keep gold investors on edge. Gold’s advances are limited by the 50-day …
Read More »Market Drivers – US Session – Friday 22 April
Total assets on the Fed’s weekly balance sheet as of April 20, released this afternoon, declined to $8.955 trillion, roughly the same as on March 16 and below the levels of March 23 and April 13. Beyond the week-to-week ups and downs, caused by the peculiarities of Mortgage Backed Securities …
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 »Powell: Fed needs to move away from stimulative monetary policy
US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, testifying before Congress on the first day of his semi-annual speech, said that it is time to move away from highly stimulative monetary policy settings.Monetary policy cannot address supply-side challenges and constraints, Powell added, stressing that “The US economy is very strong, the labor …
Read More »How is Ukraine War Clouding Eurozone?
ECB executive board member Isabel Schnabel issued some comments, Thursday, on the central bank’s monetary policy. Schnabel said “It is now becoming increasingly likely that, in the medium term, inflation will approach our 2% target from above, not below”. Additional QuotesReversing the current exceptional measures has the potential to mitigate …
Read More »Could Russia-Ukraine Crisis Grant Powell A Softer Landing?
Although several Wall Street banks and traders expected the Fed to chart a very aggressive course in normalizing policy due to surging inflation, that outlook has shifted amid the heightened tensions in Europe. Some observers suggest that Fed could adopt a less hawkish stance on the backdrop of the prevalent …
Read More »Bowman: Fed open-minded on half percentage point hike in March
Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman said on Monday that she will assess incoming economic data over the next three weeks in deciding whether a half percentage point interest rate rise at the central bank’s next meeting in March is needed, a stance that underscores divisions among policymakers on how aggressively …
Read More »ECB’s Lane: Eurozone Turned Page On Low Inflation
The ultra-low inflation seen in the euro zone until recently are unlikely to return even after the pandemic is over, the European Central Bank’s chief economist Philip Lane said, citing changes in the global economy among other factors.Lane had dismissed the notion of a new era for inflation until recently …
Read More »Fed rate decisions will be made on meeting-by-meeting basis
Federal Reserve officials last month agreed that, with inflation widening its grip on the economy and employment strong, it was time to tighten monetary policy, but also that decisions would depend on a meeting-by-meeting analysis of data, according to minutes of the Jan. 25-26 policy meeting.Participants agreed that the US …
Read More »FOMC Minutes: Most Policymakers Suggested Faster Interest Rate Hike
The minutes of the 25-26 January FOMC meeting, released on Wednesday, said that most participants suggested that a faster pace of increases in the target rate for the Federal Funds rate than in the post-2015 period would likely be warranted. Additional Quotes Participants continued to stress that maintaining flexibility to …
Read More »