Australian Monetary Policy Meeting Preview
October 5, 2009
Markets are pricing in a 25-basis point hike in the Reserve Bank of Australia’s cash rate no later than December, and many think the move will be announced Tuesday. Australian growth of 2.5% at a seasonally adjusted annual rate last quarter was triple the strength of what analysts had forecast. Retail sales in the latest […] More
Currency Markets in the News
U.S. and Euroland Posted Identical Service Sector PMI Readings in September
October 5, 2009
Activity in non-manufacturing improved more sharply in the United States last month than in Euroland, completely closing a 1.5 point PMI disadvantage from August. The average PMI-services spread over the first eight months of 2009 had amounted to +0.5 points. The September story in manufacturing had been the opposite, with the euro area index increasing […] More
Larry's Blog
What Constitutes a Currency Crisis?
October 5, 2009
The Lonely Trader posted the following recent comment: “Given your experiences of the last USD freefall back in 1978, I’ll be looking forward to more of your insights on the next one.” I prefer “crisis” to free-fall, because it is an easier term to define. The dollar has fallen sharply several times in the last […] More
Central Bank Watch
Indonesian Central Bank Benchmark Rate Left Unchanged at 6.5%
October 5, 2009
Bank Indonesia announced no further rate change. A streak of nine straight monthly cuts had been stopped in September, and analysts expected the same result at this month’s meeting. The rate had fallen from a peak of 9.5% via cuts of 25 basis points last December, 50 bps each in the first three months of […] More
New Overnight Developments Abroad - Daily Update
New Overnight Developments Abroad: Mostly Lower Dollar
October 5, 2009
The dollar fell 1.2% against the Australian dollar, 0.6% relative to the Canadian dollar, 0.4% against the kiwi, 0.3% against the euro and 0.2% against the Swiss franc. The greenback is unchanged against sterling and up 0.2% against the euro. G7 finance ministers and central bankers released a statement with the same currency policy language […] More
