Category: Daily blog

Dollar slightly softer post US jobs report

Yesterday’s employment report in the US was something of a mixed bag. The economy added more jobs than expected in September but the unemployment rate came in slightly higher than forecast. The report didn’t alter expectations for next month’s Fed meeting very much with the chances of a rate cut raised a little but still […]

Dollar on the front foot

The dollar advanced across the board yesterday as the market pared back substantially expectations for a Fed rate cut at next month’s meeting. This followed the announcement that, after today’s US jobs report (for September), the next report will not be published until after the December 10th meeting, leading the market to conclude that, in […]

Main currency pairs in tight ranges

As suspected might be case, there was limited price action in FX markets yesterday with the main currency pairs continuing to trade in very tight ranges ahead of tomorrow’s jobs report in the US. Inflation data in the UK published a short while ago were broadly in line with expectations and so have had little […]

Quiet start to the week in FX

While it was a relatively quiet start to the week in FX markets, the dollar was slightly firmer amid a renewed slide in US equities. The euro and sterling are trading at around $1.1595 and $1.3155 respectively this morning, versus last Friday’s closing levels of $1.1620 and $1.3170. EURGBP briefly dipped below the £0.88 level […]

US data coming back on stream

The euro managed to advance against the dollar last week notwithstanding the market paring back expectations for a cut in US interest rates at next month’s Fed meeting, though it did finish off its best levels of the week (circa $1.1660) and is trading just north of $1.16 this morning. Sterling underperformed, ending largely unchanged […]

Sterling lower this morning

The dollar was under pressure for much of yesterday’s session, notwithstanding quite a sharp sell-off in equity markets, with EURUSD and GBPUSD trading up to intra-day highs of circa $1.1660 and $1.3215 respectively. Sterling in particular has come back a bit since though, with media reports that the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has abandoned ‘plans’ to […]

Sterling under some pressure

Sterling lost some ground yesterday amid the controversy that has arisen in relation to the leadership of the UK Prime Minister, Keir Starmer. Meanwhile, data for UK GDP in Q3 published a short while ago were slightly softer than expected, keeping the pound under pressure. It is trading at around £0.8840 against the euro this […]

Limited price action in FX markets

The price action in FX markets was limited enough yesterday. The euro traded north of $1.16 against the dollar for a time but is back at about $1.1585 this morning, marginally firmer than yesterday morning’s levels. Having slipped following weaker than expected UK labour market data, sterling remains north of £0.88 against the euro and […]

Sterling softer after UK labour market data

While progress in ending the government shutdown in the US contributed to a rally in equity markets yesterday, the response in both bond and currency markets was muted. In FX, the main currency pairs were confined to narrow ranges, ending little changed from Friday’s closing levels. Sterling is a touch weaker this morning on the […]

A week of two halves in FX markets

It was a ‘game of two halves’ last week in FX markets, with the dollar in the ascendancy initially before reversing course quite sharply thereafter albeit ending the week little changed overall. The euro and sterling closed out the week at around $1.1565 and $1.3160 against the US currency respectively, well off their intra-week lows […]