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• Positive vibes. Markets optimistic about an end to the US/Iran conflict. Oil lower, USD softer. NZD outperforms. AUD touched a fresh multi-year high.• Twists & turns. Spillovers from the conflict set to be with us for a while. RBA rate hikes will weigh on growth. US jobs report could generate FX vol.
Global Trends
Markets have remained in a positive state of mind with hopes of an end to the...
American trade imbalances aren’t going away, just moving geographically
By the time Donald Trump entered the White House in 2017, faith in free trade among America’s elite had already collapsed. Antipathy to globalisation was the closest thing Washington had to consensus, and the $552-billion deficit the United States ran that year was seen as evidence of national surrender. In the years since,...
The dollar is trading near its lowest levels in months, bond yields are plunging, and equity indices advancing after Axios reported that Washington and Tehran are nearing an agreement to end the war in the Middle East. Both global crude benchmarks are down more than 9%, with Brent trading below $100 and West Texas Intermediate nearing $90, and most major currencies are climbing against the greenback...
The RBA continues to take few chances when it comes to the problematic domestic inflation trends with another interest rate hike announced today. This is the third consecutive meeting the RBA has tapped on the brakes with the latest 25bp increase moving the cash rate up to 4.35%. Policy settings have been recalibrated quickly. The interest rate ‘relief’ delivered last year has been unwound with the...
• Optimistic markets. Equities rose, oil dipped on positive US/Iran vibes. More volatility likely. USD softens. AUD whipped around by push/pull forces.• RBA hike. RBA announced its 3rd straight rate rise. Another hike more likely than not. But it will come at an economic cost. Growth set to slow sharply.
Global Trends
Sentiment about the situation in the Middle East has generated a few bursts of...
America produces more crude than anyone. That does not spare it—or the dollar—the consequences of an oil shock.
A comforting narrative has taken hold in Washington. The shale revolution, which transformed America into the world’s largest producer of crude oil, is supposed to have insulated the country from the geopolitical convulsions that have long roiled energy markets. Since the war in Iran...