Euroland retail sales
A Negative U.S. Jobs Surprise and Global Covid Cases Climbs Above 200 million Threshold
August 4, 2021
Wednesday brought two pieces of discouraging news. ADP’s 330k monthly estimate of private U.S. employment growth in July was only about half as much as forecasters were anticipating, down from a 2Q average of 729k per month, and the lowest increase since February. Fed officials have made clear that labor market trends will exert very […] More
Mixed Data Signals and Another Central Bank Shifts its Stance Ever So Slightly
July 6, 2021
The dollar slid 0.1% against its DXY weighted index overnight, with drops of 0.9% against the kiwi, 0.6% versus the Australian dollar, 0.3% relative to the yen, and 0.2% vis-a-vis the Mexican peso. The dollar also firmed 0.2% against the euro and loonie and 0.1% against the Swiss franc. The Turkish lira, Chinese yuan and […] More
Marking Time Ahead of U.S. Monthly Jobs Report
June 4, 2021
Financial markets were marking time overnight. The dollar was virtually unchanged but at multi-week highs, with no net movement against its DXY weighted index, a dip of 0.2% versus the yen and a 0.1% uptick relative to the euro. The price of gold was flat, while that of WTI oil had firmed merely 0.2%. U.S. […] 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
Modest Dollar Pull-Back
April 12, 2021
On a Monday with few data releases, the dollar has slipped 0.3% against the yen and sterling, 0.2% relative to the Mexican peso, and 0.1% versus the euro, Swiss franc, Australian dollar, Chinese yuan and against its weighted DXY index. Fed Chairman Powell gave an upbeat interview aired Sunday night on 60 minutes in which […] More
Dollar Up, Equities and Bond Yields Lower, and U.S. Capitol on Alert
March 4, 2021
March 4th was the day U.S. presidents were inaugurated until the 1930s, and there’s internet chatter suggesting a possible reprise of the January 6th attack on the Capitol. Widely anticipated geopolitical traumas rarely seem to happen as planned. A notable exception occurred July 1, 1997, the day that Hong Kong reverted to Chinese rule. That […] 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’s Losses Extended Overnight
December 3, 2020
Compared to Wednesday closing levels, the dollar has weakened 0.7% against sterling, 0.5% versus the Swiss franc and Mexican peso, 0.4% relative to the euro and yen, 0.3% vis-a-vis the Australian dollar, 0.2% against the yuan and kiwi, and 0.1% versus the Canadian dollar. One currency that fell against the dollar has been the beleaguered […] 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
Dollar Down Amid Worries about the President’s Medical Condition
October 5, 2020
Medical reports on President Trump have been opaque and not entirely truthful. He’s been put on steroids and other meds consistent with a possibly serious case of Covid-19. Today’s other attention-grabbing news has been reported progress in talks between the EU and U.K. over a post-Brexit trade arrangement. The dollar fell overnight by 0.9% against […] More
