Deeper Analysis
April in Figures
April 29, 2017
In April, ten-year sovereign debt yields fell a little more sharply in the United States than other economies, but the dollar was mixed, falling against the euro, sterling, and Swiss franc but not the yen. The dollar advanced solidly against commodity-sensitive currencies, and West Texas Intermediate crude oil slipped back below the $50 per barrel […] More
Foreign Exchange Insights and Next Week
Next Week
April 28, 2017
Holidays: Many markets will be closed Monday in observances celebrating workers, includin China, Germany, Italy, Spain, Norway, Hong Kong, Singapore, Mexico, Switzerland, South Africa, Brazil, South Korea, Greece and Portugal. Great Britain is shut also on Monday for the early May bank holiday. Japan’s market opens only for Monday and Tuesday. The so-called Golden Week […] More
Central Bank Watch
Another Russian Central Bank Interest Rate Cut
April 28, 2017
The Bank of Russia’s 50-basis point key interest rate cut to 9.25% decided today is larger than analysts were expected. Officials justified the decision by noting that inflation fell sharply last quarter to 4.3% (not far above the 4.0% target). Expected inflation is also lower, growth is positive, and real interest rates remain positive even […] More
New Overnight Developments Abroad - Daily Update
Flood of Data on Final Business Day of April
April 28, 2017
The dollar is mixed, with declines of 0.6% against the euro, 0.3% relative to the peso and Swiss franc and 0.2% vis-a-vis sterling but gains of 0.3% versus the yen, 0.2% against the kiwi and 0.1% relative to the loonie. The Aussie dollar and Chinese yuan are unchanged. Stocks are generally lower. The German bund […] More
Central Bank Watch
ECB Officials Becoming More Optimistic But Not Enough So to Reduce Stimulus
April 27, 2017
A statement released after today’s meeting of the European Central Bank Governing Council proclaims, “that the cyclical recovery of the euro area economy is becoming increasingly solid and that downside risks have further diminished” but goes on to say “underlying inflation pressures continue to remain subdued and have yet to show a convincing upward trend. […] More
Central Bank Watch
Bank of Japan
April 27, 2017
After meeting for five hours and sixteen minutes over two days, the BOJ Policy Board released a monetary policy statement that reads the same verbatim as the prior March document including footnoted text explaining the dissenting views of committee hawks Sato and Kiuchi. A new quarterly Outlook for Economic Activity and Prices was published concurrently […] More
Central Bank Watch
Swedish Riksbank Policy Continues to Be Very Accommodative
April 27, 2017
A released statement after today’s Executive Board meeting signaled that the negative 0.50% repo rate will not be raised above that level until at least mid-2018, later than indicated previously, and extended the program of government bond purchases through the second half of 2017. By end-2017, SEK 290 billion will have been bought under this […] More
New Overnight Developments Abroad - Daily Update
Three Central Bank Meetings, Weaker Oil, and Several Data Releases
April 27, 2017
The dollar is up 0.5% against the kiwi, 0.4% relative to the loonie, and 0.3% against the euru and Aussie dollar but flat against sterling and softer versus the peso. Stocks are slightly lower in the U.S., Europe and Japan. Ten-year sovereign bond yields fell six basis points in Germany, France and Italy and by […] More
Central Bank Watch
Turkish Central Bank Leaves Interest Rates at Already Elevated Levels
April 26, 2017
The Central Bank of Turkey’s overnight lending rate had previously been raised by 25 basis points in late November and 75 basis points two months later to the current level of 9.25%. The one-week repo rate was also lifted back in November by 50 basis points to its present level of 8.0%, while the overnight […] More
New Overnight Developments Abroad - Daily Update
Market Pause
April 26, 2017
After sharp advances on the first two days of the week, equities flattened as investors assessed whether so much optimism is really justified. Opinion polls, which point to a comfortable win for Macron over Le Pen in the early May presidential run-off election, have been wrong before as we saw in Britain and the United […] More
