Explore the world.

Assess underlying market conditions and fundamentals in the world's major economies.

World

Stay ahead.

Follow the biggest stories in markets and economics in real time.

Subscribe

Get insight into the latest trends and developments in global currency markets with breaking news updates and research reports delivered right to your inbox.

After signing up, you will receive regular newsletters from Corpay, and may unsubscribe at any time. View Corpay’s Privacy Policy

05 Sep 2023

AUD battered & bruised

• Stronger USD. Softer data out of China & higher US bond yields on the back of a lift in oil has supported the USD. The JPY, AUD, & NZD hit fresh 2023 lows.• AUD underperformance. The AUD has weakened. As expected the RBA kept rates on hold, though it retained its mild conditional tightening bias.• Relative expectations. We think a lot of positives are factored into the USD & negative AUD sentiment is high. AU Q2 GDP & US services ISM released today. The USD has strengthened over the past 24hrs. Softer than expected second tier China Caixin Services...

Read More Read More

Lowered expectations

As a long-ago MadTV skit illustrated, lowered expectations can be the key to happiness – in dating, and in life. Something similar applies in the currency markets, where – to paraphrase the behavioural investing expert Michael Mauboussin – traders need to assess the level of expected performance embedded in exchange rates and then assess the likelihood of a revision in expectations. If expectations seem poorly aligned with future results, volatility is likely ahead. Our turnover-weighted measure of economic surprise indices, which represents the gap between consensus forecasts and official data across the major currencies relative to the United States, suggests...

Read More Read More

Risk appetite fades on China slowdown fears

The US dollar is stronger against all its major counterparts this morning, building on August’s 1.7-percent gain as weak Chinese data weighs on global risk appetite. US equity futures are setting up for a modestly-weaker open and Treasury yields are up across the curve, helping keep the trade-weighted greenback near six-month highs. Global commodity prices are under pressure, the euro is softer, and both the onshore and offshore Chinese yuan pools are trading below 7.30 to the dollar after the private-sector Caixin services purchasing manager index dropped to 51.8 in August from 54.1 in July (the 50 level marks the...

Read More Read More

RBA: Rinse & Repeat

In what was Governor Lowe’s last meeting at the helm the RBA kept the cash rate steady at 4.1% for the 3rd straight month. This wasn’t a surprise with the recent wave of weaker activity data, slowing inflation, and sluggish growth in China supporting the case for the RBA to stand pat as the full effects of its past moves continue to work their way through the economy. According to the RBA the tighter policy is “working to establish a more sustainable balance between supply and demand in the economy”, and the decision to hold fire again in September “will...

Read More Read More