Weekly Chartbook
Canadian consumers aren’t spending. US inflation pressures are subsiding. The renminbi is stabilizing. The euro area economy is showing signs of bottoming. Technicals support further gains.
CNY
AUD faces some data challenges
• Trends extend. European equities ticked up, bond yields rose. Oil gave back ground. Iron ore elevated. AUD at the top of its multi-month range.• Weaker USD. USD remains under pressure. USD index is near where it started the year. Factors that propelled the USD higher have changed course.• Event radar. Locally, retail sales & monthly CPI are due. Offshore, US PCE deflator, manufacturing ISM, China PMIs & Eurozone inflation are released. It was a fairly quiet end to last week across markets with the US having a holiday shortened session on Friday following the Thanksgiving break. European equities ticked...
RBA’s inflation challenge
• Mixed markets. US equities rose & bond yields edged up slightly. Oil eased back. USD a bit firmer. RBA rhetoric an offset for the AUD.• Volatile data. Weekly US jobless claims data a little better than expected. But some seasonal factors suggest it may not last. Eurozone PMIs due tonight.• RBA speak. Gov. Bullock delivered another speech & comments around inflation sounded hawkish. Diverging policy expectations are AUD supportive. Market volatility picked up slightly overnight as participants reacted to some partial US economic data and looked to lighten positions ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday period. The US and Japan...
Ranges hold in foreign exchange markets as holiday looms
Currency markets are caught in choppy trading conditions as selling pressure on the US dollar abates ahead of tomorrow’s Thanksgiving holiday. Equity futures are steady, Treasury yields are up modestly on the short end, and oil prices are moving sideways as overall liquidity levels fall. The pound is holding near a two-month high on hawkish verbal support from Bank of England policymakers, and the euro is clinging to the 1.09 threshold against the greenback as traders await new catalysts – perhaps tomorrow’s purchasing manager indices – for a move higher. Although momentum is slowing, both the Chinese yuan and Japanese...
Steady as she goes
• Consolidation. Positive momentum in equites stalled & bond yields slipped back. USD ticked up a bit, but the AUD remains near the top end of its 3-month range.• US macro. US home sales fell again as tighter conditions bite. FOMC meeting minutes reiterated that they are now in a position to “proceed carefully”• RBA speak. Comments yesterday by Gov. Bullock & the November meeting minutes struck a slightly more ‘hawkish’ tone. Gov. Bullock gives a speech tonight. It has been a rather uneventful night with market moves modest. Positive momentum in US and European equities stalled (S&P500 -0.2%) and...