Category: Daily blog

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 […]

Focus on Trump’s ‘reciprocal’ tariffs

It was quiet in markets on Friday with the US on public holiday. The euro was largely unchanged against the dollar on the day, though it advanced for a second week running, gaining around three quarters of a cent, and kicks off this week trading at around $1.1760. Sterling recovered ground against both the dollar […]

Dollar gives up post-US jobs data gains

Yesterday’s employment report in the US was stronger than expected, triggering a paring back of Fed rate cut expectations and an increase in US bond yields. The dollar firmed in response to the data, but its gains were modest and short-lived. It is trading at around $1.1780 and $1.3670 against the euro and sterling respectively […]

Pound under pressure but off lows

UK bond yields rose sharply and sterling weakened considerably yesterday amid concerns about the public finances and the position of the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, following the government’s climbdown on cuts to disability benefit spending, before a statement from Number 10 insisting the Chancellor was “going nowhere” helped to steady markets to some extent. The pound […]

Euro retreats from highs of over $1.18

The euro rose to an intra-day high of around $1.1830 against the dollar yesterday after comments by ECB Vice-President de Guindos  – expressing little concern about the currency’s recent appreciation and saying $1.20 would be “acceptable” but above this would be “complicated” – before retreating to under $1.18 after the release of somewhat better than […]

Euro grinding higher

Ahead of the July 9 deadline, a Bloomberg News report that the EU is willing to accept a trade arrangement with the US that includes a 10% tariff on many of its exports, but wants the US to commit to lower tariffs in some specific areas like cars and steel, is providing modest support to […]