Category: Daily blog

Pound firmer after BoE rate decision

Sterling has gained ground following yesterday’s Bank of England (BoE) interest rate decision. As widely anticipated the BoE lowered rates by 25bps to 4%, but the vote to do so (5/4) was much more finely balanced than expected. Moreover, BoE Governor Bailey said that, while the direction for rates was still “downward”, the timing and […]

Dollar lower amid Fed rate cut talk

The dollar remains under pressure amid indications the Fed is preparing to resume lowering interest rates. EURUSD has broken decisively through last Friday’s post-US jobs report high of just under $1.16 to trade at around $1.1680 this morning, though this is still below its best levels for the year so far of around $1.1840 back […]

Main currency pairs little changed

It was relatively uneventful in markets yesterday. In FX, the euro and sterling dipped to lows of the day of around $1.1530 and $1.3260 against the dollar respectively before rebounding following softer than expected US economic data. They are trading at about $1.1575 and $1.3290 this morning, not far shy of the highs they posted […]

Dollar slumps after US jobs data

Friday’s softer than expected jobs report in the US elicited a sizeable reaction in markets with US bond yields falling sharply, stocks selling off and the dollar weakening across the board. The latter remains close to it post-jobs data lows this morning, trading at around $1.1560 and $1.3290 against the euro and sterling respectively (compared […]

Key US jobs report today

The dollar remains close to its highs of the week – largely unaffected by Donald Trump’s rollout of his ‘reciprocal’ tariffs 2.0 overnight – ahead of the release of the key jobs report in the US later today. The latter may well determine whether the US currency can continue its advance, which has gathered steam […]

Dollar gains more ground post-Fed

The dollar has gained more ground following yesterday’s Fed meeting. The central bank left interest rates unchanged as widely expected, though two members voted for a 25bps cut, while the Fed Chair Jerome Powell said no decision had been taken regarding the next meeting in September, noting that there’s plenty of economic data due between […]

Fed to stay on hold again today

The dollar advanced further yesterday albeit its gains were modest and it is currently off its best levels ahead of the Fed’s interest rate announcement later today. The euro and sterling are trading at around $1.1560 and $1.3360 against the US currency respectively this morning (versus lows yesterday of about $1.1520 and $1.33), while EURGBP […]

Euro sharply lower

The euro has sold off quite sharply following the EU-US trade deal reached over the weekend, amid much criticism from European business and elsewhere of the lopsided nature of the agreement (which ‘favoured’ the US), with the single currency falling to under $1.1550 against the dollar (from over $1.17) and to about £0.8650 against sterling […]

Euro lower despite EU-US trade deal

There’s been a muted enough market reaction so far to the weekend news that the EU and US have agreed a trade deal, including a 15% tariff, which is not too surprising given there had been talk over the latter part of last week that an agreement was in the offing. While there’s some uncertainty […]

Sterling on the back foot

The ECB left interest rates unchanged yesterday, as widely expected, with Christine Lagarde saying the central bank is now “on hold” and in “wait and see” mode as it awaits further developments in relation to the current EU-US trade talks in particular. The market has pared back expectations for any further policy easing though and […]