Category: Daily blog

Euro and pound firmer versus dollar

The euro and sterling are both firmer against the dollar this morning after Fed Governor Waller said the central bank should cut interest rates by 25bps at its meeting at the end of this month. They are trading at around $1.1625 and $1.3430 respectively this morning, off lows yesterday of around $1.1560 and $1.3375 which […]

Summertime madness!

There was drama in financial markets yesterday afternoon with US stocks, long-dated bonds, and the dollar all falling after White House sources said Donald Trump would fire Fed Chair Powell “soon”, though they recovered again after Trump denied he was planning to do so (albeit he said he had thought about it and had spoken […]

Dollar firmer after US inflation data

Yesterday’s US inflation data, which showed evidence of a pass-through of higher tariffs to consumer prices, contributed to a paring back of Fed rate cut expectations, an increase in US bond yields and a strengthening of the dollar. UK inflation data released just a short while ago were firmer than expected which is providing some […]

Sterling under pressure

Sterling has been on the back foot since last Friday’s softer than expected UK GDP data. It has fallen to around $1.3440 against the dollar, its weakest level in about a month, and to almost £0.87p against the euro, which is just shy of its year-to-date low of £0.8740. Tonight’s Mansion House speech by the […]

More Trump tariff talk

The euro closed out Friday trading just below $1.17 against the dollar, down around a cent on the week. It is marginally lower this morning, at about $1.1670, after Donald Trump’s weekend announcement of a new “reciprocal” tariff of 30% on the EU effective from 1 August (larger than the 10% tariff currently in place […]

Dollar on the front foot

The dollar gained ground generally yesterday and remains on the front foot this morning. Trump has delivered his latest tariff missive, slapping 35% on relevant goods imports from Canada, up from 25% currently, even as intensive trade negotiations continue between the two sides. The EU has not yet received a ‘love letter’ informing it of […]

Main currency pairs not much changed

US government bonds led a decline in yields yesterday and equity markets chalked up decent gains, but in FX the main currency pairs were not much changed. Donald Trump is keeping the tariffs pot boiling with 50% slapped on Brazil, much larger than the 10% announced on Liberation Day (though this is as much to […]

Dollar a touch firmer on tariff headlines

Markets faced a barrage of Trump tariff headlines late yesterday, with the US president insisting the deadline (August 1st ) for the imposition of reciprocal tariffs would not be extended again as well as announcing a 50% tariff on copper effective from late July or early August, while also threatening a (scarcely believable ) 200% […]

Dollar a touch firmer on tariff headlines

Markets faced a barrage of Trump tariff headlines late yesterday, with the US president insisting the deadline (August 1st ) for the imposition of reciprocal tariffs would not be extended again as well as announcing a 50% tariff on copper effective from late July or early August, while also threatening a (scarcely believable ) 200% […]

Trump’s tariffs update

Donald Trump’s update on “reciprocal” tariffs included new tariffs for fourteen countries (though the rates are the same as or not much different from those announced on April 2), most notably Japan and South Korea – but not the EU – and an extension of the deadline for the imposition of “reciprocal” tariffs to August […]