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USD-JPY fell below 101.50 for the first time in three weeks, while EUR-JPY clocked a one-week low. Hefty Nikkei losses amid a general risk-off environment along with the minutes to the Apr 7-8 BoJ supported the yen. The minutes signalled that the central bank doesn't see that an expansion in its already aggressive policy would be necessary. Read more
Last week, Portugal announced that it was emerging from its bailout without a safety net. This was greeted as a somewhat vindication of the austerity policies the Portuguese government utilized in order to qualify for the bail-out package. But a deeper look at the relevant statistics shows the policies implemented as a result of austerity did more harm than good. Let's begin with a working definition of austerity. Read more
The dollar lost ground again in N.Y. on Tuesday, sliding toward 101.50 versus the yen, and maintaining altitude near 1.3950 against the euro. With the odds of further BoJ and ECB easing slipping, the dollar could remain under pressure for now. Cable traded to near 1.7000, with only reported barrier option defense keeping the pairing on the 1.69 handle. Read more
The USD came under general pressure, led by EUR-USD and Cable following strong data out of the Eurozone and the U.K. EUR-USD rallied on upside surprises in Italian and Spanish PMI numbers, peaking 1.3931, a seven-week high and nearly 50 pips up on levels seen at the London opening. Read more
Another quiet session has been seen in Asia with both Tokyo and Hong Kong closed today. USD-JPY has seen little more than a 10-pip range around 102.00-102.20 while EUR-USD has been side-lining around 1.3880. AUD-USD saw a brief foray above 0.9300, making a high of 0.9317, before quickly settling back to levels around 0.9275-80. Read more
FX trade was very quiet in N.Y. on Monday, as a London bank holiday kept liquidity and interest on the light side. Major dollar pairings remained inside well-worn, and narrow trading bands through the session. Better than expected U.S. non-manufacturing ISM data helped the greenback marginally, and helped USD-JPY claw back a toe-hold on the 102.00 handle. Read more
Trade was quiet with London closed for a U.K. public holiday. USD-JPY dipped below 102.00 for the first time in nearly three weeks as the yen found support amid a risk-off theme in Asia following a sub-expectations final reading of China HSBC-Markit manufacturing PMI for April, which came in at 48.1 versus the expected 48.4. Read more
USD-JPY dipped below 102.00 for the first time in nearly three weeks as the yen found support amid a risk-off theme in Asia following a sub-expectations final reading of China HSBC-Markit manufacturing PMI for April, which came in at 48.1 versus the expected 48.4. Read more
The big monthly data for April reported this past week was the big payrolls number and big drop in the unemployment rate. The labor force declined by nearly a million, which the BLS said was because of a lack of new entrants in the past month,which is a little strange. Also for April, motor vehicle sales declined slightly m/m, and have generally been flat for nearly a year. Read more
The biggest news events this week came from the US, starting with the Fed announcing a further reduction in its asset purchase program. After noting the US economy is still expanding -- albeit against some moderate headwinds -- they announced: Beginning in May, the Committee will add to its holdings of agency mortgage-backed securities at a pace of $20 billion per month rather than $25 billion per month, and will add to its holdings of longer-term Treasury securities at a pace of $25 billion per month rather than $30 billion per month. Read more
