Category: Daily blog

Main currency pairs little changed

The main currency pairs are little changed from yesterday morning’s levels notwithstanding stronger than expected GDP data in the US – the economy expanded by more than 1% q-o-q in Q3, driven by robust growth in consumer spending – with EURUSD and EURGBP trading at around $1.18 and £0.8725 respectively this morning and GBPUSD still […]

Dollar on the back foot

The dollar has started the holiday-shortened week under pressure, losing ground across the board. The euro has jumped to around $1.1790, at the top of  the relatively narrow trading range ($1.17 to $1.18) that has prevailed over the past couple of weeks or so. Sterling – which has generally been on the front foot since […]

Sterling gains some ground

The Bank of England’s “cautious” rate cut helped sterling chalk up modest gains against the dollar and euro last week, with the pound trading just north of $1.34 and just under £0.8750 respectively at the start of play today. The single currency lost some ground to the dollar on the week, notwithstanding the ECB keeping […]

Dollar firmer this morning

The ECB left interest rates unchanged yesterday, as expected, and seems set to remain on hold for an extended period. The Bank of England cut rates by 25bps but expressed caution about further reductions. Inflation in the US came in much lower than expected in November but may have been biased down because of issues […]

ECB to hold, BoE to cut

The euro and sterling have both moved up off yesterday morning’s lows against the dollar to trade circa half a cent higher at about $1.1740 and $1.3370 respectively, leaving EURGBP still hovering just below £0.88, ahead of today’s ECB and Bank of England (BoE) interest rate announcements. The ECB is expected to leave the deposit […]

Dollar rebounds

Yesterday’s jobs report in the US was, on balance, slightly softer than forecast but didn’t alter market expectations for near-term Fed monetary policy, with another rate cut still not fully priced in until well into next year. The dollar fell to its lowest levels of the day immediately following the release of the data but […]

Jobs report in the US today

The main currency pairs aren’t doing an awful lot ahead of today’s key jobs report in the US. The euro did trade up to a post-Fed meeting high of about $1.1770 against the dollar yesterday and is hovering around there this morning. Sterling is trading just below $1.34 against the US currency and at about […]

ECB and BoE meetings this week

The dollar and sterling both lost some ground to the euro last week, largely related to the differing monetary policy stances of the main central banks. While the Fed and Bank of England (BoE) are in easing mode with the BoE likely to follow last week’s Fed interest rate cut with a 25bps reduction of […]

Dollar remains under pressure

The dollar lost further ground yesterday following the Fed’s rate cut on Wednesday, though it did manage to end off its lows of the day. The euro has been one of the main beneficiaries from the US currency’s post-Fed weakness, gaining around a cent to trade just shy of $1.1750. Weaker than expected UK GDP […]

Dollar lower after Fed cuts rates

The Fed cut its policy rate by 25bps to 3.5%-3.75%, as expected, noting that “downside risks to employment appear to have risen in recent months”. There were three dissents, with one member voting for a larger 50bps cut and two voting to keep rates unchanged. Fed Chair Powell said that, with rates having been cut […]