Good morning
Some marginally better than expected US data yesterday looked as though it may be enough to send the US dollar higher. Indeed, GBPUYSD dropped 30 pips or so from 1.3380 on the release, EURUSD experienced a similar move. We then had a spell of indecision, with GBPUSD being pulled between 1.3350 and 1.3375 several times through the afternoon, not huge moves at all but made for an exciting looking chart for a while.
In the end USD did weaken, GBPUSD pushed back above 1.34, reaching 1.3435, EURUSD up to 1.1190. GBP gained vs EUR, that pair back up to the 1.20 area. Overnight those USD moves reversed once again, as I type GBPUSD is 1.3370 and EURUSD 1.1130, GBPEUR 1.2015.
Lagarde yesterday gave crypto a bit of a boost, saying DLT could have it uses in the future. I can’t claim to understand DLT, I thought she was referring to a disgraced radio DJ from the 60s/70s/80s. Turns out it stands for ‘distributed ledger technology, some sort of blockchain and possibly a better term to use than ‘crypto’. I reckon we’ll see more usage of that term in the future.
Nothing particularly new from other central bank speakers, Fed members generally continued to voice support for the 50bps cut, while ECBs Schnabel gave a slightly downbeat talk, warning of a stagnating Eurozone economy.
In Japan, the LDP leadership race has pushed Yen around. Therer were reports that Takaichi could emerge victorious, she is well known for opposing rate rises and UDSJPY climbed as high as 146.50 at one point this morning. Now it appears Ishiba has won which reversed the USDJPY move, it is now down at 143.20. Quite na swing
China stocks have enjoyed a decent week, boosted by the various measures announced earlier in the week. Shanghai Comp was up almost 3% while the CSI 300 gained almost 4.5%. Mind you, China shares are not the only ones to benefit from China’s stimulus plans. Shares in luxury goods firm LVMH have rallied over 15% this week, a lot of the move has been put down to hope that the measures will boost demand for those luxury goods.
The weather was pretty horrific yesterday, we’d been warned of thunderstorms and boy did we get them. I cannot remember when I last saw rain like it. It eased off a bit but its still coming down. There is a hope it will be a bit clearer by the weekend but I’m not holding my breath. A bit of sunshine would be appreciated but at the moment I’d take just anything dry. Still, as bad as it gets, there are always those worse off. I see Florida was hit by a category 4 hurricane, with wind speeds reaching 140mph.
Spurs managed a win their Europa league tie against Qarabag despite being reduced to ten men for over 80 minutes. Spurs are back in Premier League action on Sunday as they take on Man Utd. Chelsea vs Brighton on Saturday could be an interesting match, with Brighton one of just four teams not to have lost so far this season.
Today we’ll have the important US PCE deflator figure, the core reading is expected to rise from 2.6% to 2.7%, not ideal for rate cuts but if it comes as expected it shouldn’t be enough to sway Fed thinking on rate cuts. Always potential for this release having some market impact mind you.
That’s about all for now. Stay dry and have a splendid weekend as and when it comes.
- 09.00 German unemployment
- 09.15 ECBs Lane speaks
- 10.00 EU consumer confidence
- 10.40 ECBs Cipollone speaks
- 12.15 ECBs Nagel speaks
- 13.30 US core PCE, personal income/spending
- 15.00 US Michigan sentiment survey
- 18.15 Feds Bowman speaks
Comments