Japanese machinery orders
Aussie Dollar Rose and Oil Price Fell
November 12, 2015
Australia’s currency strengthened 1.0% against its U.S. counterpart on strong labor market data. Australia’s jobless rate fell 0.3 percentage points to 5.9%, and 58.6K jobs were created last month, four times greater than anticipated. The U.S. dollar has otherwise climbed 0.3% against the euro and sterling, 0.2% versus the kiwi and loonie, and 0.1% relative […] More
Yuan Down Again But at a More Gradual Pace
August 13, 2015
The Chinese renminbi dipped only 0.3% today. The dollar is unchanged against the Swiss franc and Aussie dollar, up 0.6% against the loonie, 0.5% relative to the euro, 0.9% versus the kiwi and 0.2% vis-a-vis the yen and sterling. In Pacific Rim stock market action, the Shanghai Composite Chinese index recovered 1.8%. Equities rose 2.3% […] More
China Situation Better, Greek Situation Still Ominous
July 9, 2015
The Shanghai Composite index of Chinese share prices jumped 5.8%, as officials imposed even more restrictions to prevent big sale orders and short selling in general. Elsewhere in the Pacific Rim, stocks rose 4.5% in Hong Kong but fell 0.7% in Indonesia and Taiwan, 0.5% in New Zealand and Singapore and 0.4% in India. The […] More
Across-the-Board Dollar Gain in Absence of Meaningful Data News
May 18, 2015
Relative to last week’s closing levels, the dollar has risen 1.2% against the kiwi, 0.9% relative to the loonie, 0.8% vis-a-vis the euro, 0.7% versus the Swiss franc, 0.6% against the Australian dollar , 0.4% versus the yen and 0.3% relative to sterling. The DOW opened comparatively steady, but share prices are down by 1.9% in […] More
Diving Chinese Trade Surplus Steals the Spotlight
April 13, 2015
China’s $3.08 billion trade surplus last month was 95% smaller than the average of $60.4 billion over the six prior months and the weakest monthly result since February 2014. Exports recorded a 15% on-year drop instead of rising 10% as analysts were assuming. Imports fell by 12.7% from the year-earlier level. There were also several bits […] More
Continuing Euro Support above $1.1300
February 12, 2015
The euro rose 0.2% against the dollar. Despite persistent concerns about Grexit — Greece abandoning the common European currency or being thrown out by other members — the euro, now at $1.1342, repeatedly finds support whenever it dips under $1.13. Greek debt talks have made very little progress. They will resume next Monday, with creditors […] More
Swiss National Bank Lights a Firestorm and India’s Central Bank Also Surprises
January 15, 2015
There’s been a whole lot of shaking going on in world financial markets overnight. Dollar/Swissie plunged 14.2%, and Swiss equities have slumped 9.5%. The trigger for these big moves was the Swiss National Bank’s abandonment of its 1.2000 franc per euro ceiling, which was imposed initially on September 6, 2011. The cost of intervention was […] More
A Number of Surprises
October 9, 2014
Fed officials rarely comment on the dollar, so the following passage from minutes of September 16-17 meeting of the FOMC caught the market’s attention, sending the dollar and bond yields lower and turning around Tuesday’s swoon in equities. Some participants expressed concern that the persistent shortfall of economic growth and inflation in the euro area […] More
Ukraine, China, Scortland and Fed Command Spotlight
September 10, 2014
A general cease fire is said to be still holding in the Ukraine despite sporadic breaches. Chinese Premier Li made reassuring remarks that policy changes are coming to buttress growth. The independence vote by Scots on September 18th appears close. Opinion polls have given a slight edge to those favoring secession. A report is circulating […] More
More Weak Data Creating New Doubts about Future Monetary Policy
August 14, 2014
The dollar is unchanged today against the yen, sterling and yuan. It has eased 0.5% against the kiwi, 0.3% relative to the Swiss franc, 0.2% vis-a-vis the euro and loonie and 0.1% against the Australian dollar. The ten-year Treasury yield has slipped below 2.40%, a drop of three basis points to 2.39%. The ten-year British […] More
