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CAD

New Year, New U-Turn

2024 is off to an inauspicious start. Ten-year Treasury yields are pushing toward the 4-percent threshold, equity futures are pointing to another day of losses, and risk-sensitive currency units are retreating against a resurgent dollar as traders turn incrementally more cautious on the likelihood of an imminent and aggressive easing cycle from the Federal Reserve. Investors are currently assigning circa-70-percent odds to a rate cut at the central bank’s March meeting, down from above 85 percent last week. The Fed will publish minutes taken during its December meeting this afternoon, providing insight into the thinking that motivated Jerome Powell’s dovish...

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Soft landing bets firm as inflation slows and consumer demand holds up

The Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measure softened more than expected in November even as durable goods order soared, helping ratify bets on a “soft landing” in the US economy ahead of year end. Data released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis this morning showed the core personal consumption expenditures index rising 0.1 percent in November from the prior month, bringing the three-month annualized pace to 2.16 percent, well within the central bank’s target range. On a year over year basis, core prices were up 3.2 percent, undershooting consensus estimates that had been set closer to 3.3 percent. The overall personal...

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Santa gets stuck in chimney

Price action in financial markets turned erratic yesterday, with US equity bourses suffering some of the biggest reversals in months. The dollar gained on a flight to safety, Treasury yields crumpled, and risk-sensitive currencies sold off. We have no idea what triggered the move*, but it appears technical in nature: with the chimney narrowing (liquidity drying up ahead of the holidays) and Santa’s girth expanding (a range of asset classes looking overbought amid the euphoria surrounding the Federal Reserve’s pivot toward easing), some form of correction had become likely. A recovery is now underway, with stock futures rising into the...

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Santa Rally continues, bolstering risk-sensitive currencies

Markets are pushing higher this morning as investors continue to front-run rate cuts, largely ignoring the protestations of Federal Reserve officials themselves. Equity futures are pointing to a stronger open, Treasury yields are down, and the dollar is slipping against its major rivals even after the Atlanta’s Fed’s Raphael Bostic said “I’m thinking inflation is going to come down relatively slowly in the next six months, which means there’s not going to be urgency for us to pull off our restrictive stance”. Richmond’s Thomas Barkin told Yahoo Finance policymakers would “respond appropriately” to slowing price growth, but warned “I’ve got...

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Markets turn more cautious on Fed pivot

Markets are turning in a mixed performance this morning as continued optimism surrounding the prospect of a soft landing in the US economy intersects with deepening concern among market veterans over the extent to which positioning has become overstretched. Equity futures are pointing to a modestly-softer open, Treasury yields are slipping, and the dollar is holding steady. Oil prices are holding near two-week highs on the prospect of continued disruption along the Red Sea shipping route. A series of attacks by Iran-backed Houthi militias based in Yemen have forced major shipping companies to reroute cargoes out of the area, with...

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