The South African rand continued to rise today, extending its rally caused by the Monday’s voting for the leadership of the ruling African National Congress. As was expected, South Africa’s ruling party got Cyril Ramaphosa as a new leader. Markets considered him to be business friendly. Because of that, the rand was rising ahead of the vote as investors were betting on him getting the post. The currency continued to rally even after the fact as traders refrained … “Rand Continues to Rise, Analysts Expect Rally to Lose Steam”
Month: December 2017
British Pound Rallies Against US Dollar on Mark Carney’s Speech
The British pound today rallied higher against the US dollar after Mark Carney‘s testimony before the UK parliament, which was interpreted by investors as being quite hawkish. The pound was on an uptrend against the US dollar from the early European session despite the lack of any fundamental drivers due to the nearly empty UK economic docket. The GBP/USD currency pair rallied by over 40 points from a daily low of 1.3376 hit … “British Pound Rallies Against US Dollar on Mark Carney’s Speech”
Krona Gains as Riksbank Signals About Gradual Reduction of Stimulus
The Swedish krona rose today after the nation’s central bank kept its monetary policy unchanged but signaled that it is going to start gradually reduce stimulus in the future. The Riksbank left its main interest rate at -0.5% at today’s meeting but stated that it “is expecting, as before, to begin slowly raising the repo rate in the middle of 2018.” The bank explained, though, that it does not mean … “Krona Gains as Riksbank Signals About Gradual Reduction of Stimulus”
New Zealand Dollar Stable Despite Underwhelming Data
The New Zealand dollar was stable today and even gained on the Japanese yen despite the fact that macroeconomic data released in New Zealand overnight was not good. New Zealand trade balance deficit widened from NZ$843 million in October to NZ$1,193 million in November, more than two times the forecast value of NZ$495 million. That was the first time since 2005 for a gap in November to rise above the NZ$1 billion … “New Zealand Dollar Stable Despite Underwhelming Data”
GBP/USD Tumbles to New Lows on Positive US Housing Data
The GBP/USD currency pair today tumbled to new session lows after the release of positive US housing starts data for November. The currency pair was on a downtrend for most of the European session given the empty UK economic docket. The GBP/USD currency pair today declined by over 70 points from a daily high of 1.3403 to hit a low of 1.3330 after the US housing data release. The British pound was on a downtrend against the US dollar … “GBP/USD Tumbles to New Lows on Positive US Housing Data”
Aussie Rises After RBA Minutes, Struggles to Maintain Gains
The Reserve Bank released minutes of its latest policy meeting today. The notes had both good and bad things to mention. It appears that markets paid more attention to the good part as the Australian dollar rose against most of its major peers, with the exception of the euro. With that said, the Aussie struggled to maintain gains. The RBA expressed a positive outlook for employment, inflation, and household debt. It said that wage … “Aussie Rises After RBA Minutes, Struggles to Maintain Gains”
German Business Climate Index Misses Expectations, Euro Unfazed
The euro rose against other most-traded currencies today. That was surprising, considering that economic data released in the eurozone today, namely the German business climate, missed expectations. The Ifo Business Climate Index slid to 117.2 in December, seasonally adjusted, from the record high level of 117.6 in November, whereas analysts had expected it to stay unchanged. The data was mixed as the index for the current conditions actually improved, and it is … “German Business Climate Index Misses Expectations, Euro Unfazed”
GBP/USD: stability is misleading – why it break the double bottom
Foreign exchange trading is beginning to enjoy the holidays: currency pairs are taking a break and not going anywhere fast. For GBP/USD, this is seen in stable range trading: 1.33 is a double bottom and 1.3450 serves as resistance. Yet looking closer at the chart, we can see a nice series of lower highs: 1.3550 … “GBP/USD: stability is misleading – why it break the double bottom”
USD/CAD Stable, Other CAD-Crosses Weak
The Canadian dollar was stable against its US counterpart but fell against other most-traded currencies today, most likely dragged down by crude oil prices. Foreign investment in Canadian securities rose from C$16.69 in September to C$20.81 in October. Yet the market did not pay attention to the good report, sending the Canadian currency down. The probable reason for that was the decline of crude oil prices. The end of this week … “USD/CAD Stable, Other CAD-Crosses Weak”
EUR/USD Rallies After Final Estimate of November CPI
The euro gained on the US dollar today, finding help in domestic macroeconomic data and the weakness of the greenback. The shared 19-nation currency also rallied against the Japanese yen but fell against other most-traded currencies, including the Great Britain pound and the Swiss franc. Eurozone annual inflation in November was finalized at 1.5%, unchanged from the preliminary estimate and matching forecasts. That was a small increase from the October’s reading of 1.4%. The core Consumer … “EUR/USD Rallies After Final Estimate of November CPI”