Bank of England
Considerable Central Bank News and a Whole Lot More
September 23, 2021
The takeaways from Fed Chairman Powell’s press conference yesterday are that a tapering of Fed bond purchases could begin as soon as right after the next scheduled FOMC meeting and should be drawn down to zero by mid-2022, plus the lift-off date for the fed funds target could occur next year rather than in 2023. […] More
Bank of England Policy Review
August 5, 2021
The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee again voted unanimously to leave its Bank Rate unchanged at 0.10%. Officials however concede that the recent acceleration of inflation has exceeded their expectations by a significant margin, and they now foresee the 12-month rate of CPI increase to hit 4.0% later this year. Moreover, officials are somewhat […] More
Dollar Dips as U.S. Covid Cases Swell and Trade Deficit Climbs to Record High in June
August 5, 2021
U.S. Covid-19 cases rose to 96.0k yesterday from 92.6k on Tuesday. The United States goods and services trade deficit of $75.749 in June was a record monthly high. The first-half deficit of $428.6 billion was 46% greater than in the first half of 2020. The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee again voted unanimously to […] More
Signs of Economic Recovery and Monetary Policy Patience
June 24, 2021
Overnight dollar movements were mostly down but slight in magnitude. The U.S. currency slid 0.4% against the Mexican peso, 0.3% relative to the New Zealand dollar, 0.2% versus the yen, and 0.1% against the euro, Aussie dollar, loonie and yuan. The dollar also rose 0.5% versus the Turkish lira and 0.3% against sterling. Relative to […] More
Lower Dollar
May 6, 2021
The dollar settled back 0.4% on a weighted basis and against the euro overnight. The dollar also lost 0.5% relative to the Swiss franc, 0.3% versus the loonie, and 0.1% relative to the New Zealand and Australian currencies. The dollar alternatively edged 0.1% higher against the peso and sterling and held steady on balance versus […] More
U.S. Treasury Yield Climbs Sharply in Spite of Fed’s Message and Lifts Dollar
March 18, 2021
Markets aren’t buying yesterday’s dovish policy message from the Federal Reserve. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield roared ten basis points higher overnight to 1.74%, just shy of doubling mid-December’s level. The 10-year British gilt yield rose 6 basis points even though the Bank of England maintained its policy settings, too, and called its current monetary […] More
Bank of England Keeps Policy as Is in Unanimous Vote
February 4, 2021
The Bank of England‘s Monetary Policy Committee had reduced the base rate twice in March 2020, first by 50 basis points and a week later by 15 bps to 0.10%. Today’s statement after maintaining 0.10% and bond-purchase ceilings of GBP 875 billion for gilts and GBP 20 billion of corporate bonds provides the following guidance to […] More
Uncertain Economics, Public Health, and Politics
February 4, 2021
Investors continue to grapple with uncertainty on several planes. Covid: The trend in new cases has slowed but remains well above what was seen in earlier waves of the pandemic. Hospitalizations are down, but two potential super-spreading events loom: the Chinese New Year holiday and Super Bowl Sunday in the United States. Vaccines are being […] More
Dollar Slinks to Another 32-Month Low and Several Central Banks Leave Interest Rates As Is
December 17, 2020
The DXY trade-weighted dollar index fell below 90 to as low as 89.79. Overnight losses occurred across of broad cross-section of key bilateral dollar relationships amounting to 0.9% versus the kiwi, 0.8% relative to sterling, 0.7% versus the Australian dollar, 0.5% against the yen and euro, 0.3% vis-a-vis the Canadian dollar, and 0.2% versus the […] More
U.S. Still Counting Votes as 24-Hour Rise Covid Cases and Deaths Exceed 107K and 1.1K
November 5, 2020
U.S. Election News: Biden’s electoral college count seems likely to reach 270 threshold. Trump is suing to halt counting of absentee ballots, and street protests against such action broke out in several cities overnight. Congress most likely will remain divided with Dems controlling the House and Republicans holding the Senate, but there too ballot counting […] More
