Category: Daily blog

Weak headline Q1 US growth sees dollar tick down

The dollar lost more ground yesterday following weaker than expected Q1 US GDP data, continuing a trend of weak US data this week. The dollar fell to around $1.0730 to the euro, and has now lost more than 1/2 cent this week against the single currency, and to $1.25 to sterling, down more than 1 […]

Dollar and Yen losing ground

There was little change in currency markets yesterday but the dollar is losing ground in early trading this morning. The US currency dipped back on Tuesday but was largely stable yesterday – on what was a relatively quiet day datawise – but in early trading today the euro has broken back through $1.07 to $1.0720 […]

Weak US PMI sees dollar decline

The dollar lost ground to both the euro and sterling, with the US currency not helped by a fall in the April US composite PMI contrasting to an improvement in the PMI in the Euro Area and the UK. The euro rose back to $1.07 while sterling increased to over $1.2450 for a time. The […]

Equities rebound at start of the week

Equities had a good start to the week, with the S&P 500 rising 0.9% for the day, breaking a run of 6 consecutive days of daily loses, and taking the index back to over 5,000. This will be a key week for earnings in the US with a number of major corporates due to report […]

Geopolitical tensions remain the focus

Heightened geo-political tensions will remain to the fore this week. The news that the US House of Representatives had finally passed a military aid bill for Ukraine will mean the continuation of that conflict and should slow recent Russian advances while there remains an increased risk of a wider Middle East War following last week’s […]

Geopolitical tensions to the fore

News of an Israeli drone attack on Iran overnight saw oil prices pop higher, US yields fall and safe-haven currencies gain ground, though these moves have since been partially reversed after Iran said it had no immediate plans to respond. In FX markets, the yen and Swiss franc have given up most of their initial […]

Some respite for the euro

There was some mild respite for the euro in yesterday’s session, having been under pressure recently, with the single currency gaining ground against both the dollar and sterling. It is trading at around $1.0680 and at 85.7p respectively this morning, while the pound is also slightly firmer against the dollar at $1.2460. There was also […]

Bond yields head further north

The euro is hovering just above its 2024 to date lows against the dollar this morning trading at around $1.0625. Sterling is a little stronger after slightly firmer than forecast UK inflation data for March released earlier, trading at about $1.2460 against the dollar and 85.3p vis-a-vis the single currency. US government 2-year bond yields […]

Dollar on the front foot again

The euro and sterling have resumed their descent against the dollar, with more stronger than expected US economic data, this time retail sales, supporting the latter. The single currency has fallen to a fresh 2024 low just north of $1.06, though this is still within the $1.05 to $1.10 range that has prevailed for most of […]

Euro, pound edge higher

There has been a muted market reaction to Iran’s attack on Israel over the weekend – perhaps due to attempts by the US and G7 to de-escalate the situation and indications from Israel that there won’t be an immediate retaliation – with little change in oil prices and no flight to bond markets or to […]