Category: Daily blog

Dollar remains on the front foot

The euro and sterling remain under pressure against the dollar, as the latter continues to benefit from ongoing weakness in equity markets, slipping to around $1.0825 and $1.2925 respectively. EURGBP fell to a low of about £0.8350 after the Bank of England (BoE) left interest rates unchanged following yesterday’s monetary policy meeting, but has since […]

Fed stays on hold as expected

The Fed left interest rates on hold (4.25%-4.5%) following yesterday’s meeting, as widely expected. Mainly because of the impact of tariffs, it lowered its forecast for GDP growth in 2025 and raised its forecast for inflation this year, though inflation is still expected to fall back close to target in 2026.  The Fed kept intact […]

Waiting for the Fed

US equity markets sold off yesterday, reversing some of the gains made over the previous couple of sessions, though European stocks advanced. Elsewhere, bond yields were broadly unchanged on the day, while the main currency pairs largely treaded water. The euro and sterling are both a touch weaker against the dollar this morning, ahead of […]

Dollar on the back foot

The dollar remains on the back foot this morning having lost ground yesterday as equity markets extended Friday’s gains. The euro is trading at a fresh 2025 high against the US currency just north of $1.0950, as is sterling which has risen to $1.30. This leaves EURGBP, which has been confined to a range of […]

Dollar a little firmer

More Trump tariff threats – this time a 200% tariff on alcohol imports from the EU – as well as fears of an imminent US government shutdown and softer than forecast US producer prices data all contributed to a renewed decline in equity markets and lower bond yields yesterday, while the dollar advanced albeit its […]

Euro a touch softer

The euro’s rally against the dollar ran out of steam during the course of yesterday’s session and sees it back below $1.09 this morning (at about $1.0880). Sterling traded up to a new 2025 high of almost $1.2990 against the US currency, but it has since eased to around $1.2960. This leaves the single currency […]

Skittish markets

Donald Trump roiled markets yesterday when he announced he was doubling the tariff (to 50%) on steel and aluminium imports from Canada in response to Ottawa’s decision to impose a 25% surcharge on electricity exports to the US, though there was some relief later when the two sides agreed to suspend the moves to allow […]

Dollar under pressure this morning

Equity markets sold off sharply and bond yields fell in the US yesterday, and while the dollar managed to hold its own for the most part (unlike last week when it lost considerable ground alongside declining stocks and bond yields), it is under some pressure this morning. The euro is trading at a new 2025 […]

Euro holds gains

The euro staged a comeback last week after Germany’s new chancellor-elect announced plans for a €500bn infrastructure fund (to be used over the next 10-years) and a relaxation of the country’s “debt brake” to allow for increased defence spending.  Increased government spending on infrastructure and defence across euro-zone members may now be in prospect and […]

Euro remains on the front foot

The ECB cut the deposit rate by 25bps to 2.5% at yesterday’s meeting, as expected, and said it is now at a ‘meaningfully less restrictive’ level, pointing to the possibility of a slower pace of rate cuts ahead. The euro traded up to an intra-day high of just over $1.0850 following the meeting, which is […]