Aussie, rand flounder as Omicron spooks investors
By Kevin Buckland (Reuters) – The safe-haven yen hovered near a seven-week high on Thursday while the rand and riskier currencies languished as the Omicron coronavirus variant established itself as the dominant strain in South Africa and continued to spread globally. Early indications suggesting Omicron may be markedly more contagious than previous variants…
Dollar Rumbles on Powell vs. Omicron News
By Kathy Lien, Currencies and equities sold off sharply today after Federal Reserve Chairman Powell said, “it is time to retire the word transitory regarding inflation.” Investors bid up the U.S. dollar but having sold off before Powell’s announcement, the greenback was unable to turn positive against all of the major currencies. Today’s…
Currencies stabilise as worst Omicron fears recede
By Kevin Buckland (Reuters) – The dollar hovered on Tuesday above the one-week low against major peers it hit last week, as fears eased that the new Omicron coronavirus variant would derail the U.S. recovery and delay Federal Reserve interest rate hikes. The safe-haven yen stabilised some half a percent off its strongest…
Currencies recover from Omicron chaos but analysts warn more volatility ahead
By Kevin Buckland OTTAWA (Reuters) – Currency markets calmed on Monday in Asia after the initial shock of the discovery of the Omicron coronavirus variant sent investors scurrying for cover last week, but analysts warned of more volatility with little still known about the new strain. The risk-sensitive Australian dollar rose 0.37% to…
Stocks slip, havens rally as new COVID-19 variant spooks investors
By Tom Westbrook SYDNEY (Reuters) – Stocks fell and headed for their largest weekly drop in nearly two months on Friday, while safe haven assets such as bonds and the yen rallied as a new virus variant added to swirling concerns about future growth and higher U.S. interest rates. The variant, detected by…
More Fed officials open to speeding up bond-buying taper, rates liftoff
By Lindsay (NYSE:LNN) Dunsmuir (Reuters) -A growing number of Federal Reserve policymakers indicated they would be open to speeding up the elimination of their bond-buying program if high inflation held and move more quickly to raise interest rates, minutes of the U.S. central bank’s last policy meeting showed. The readout released on Wednesday…
Will Dollar Trot Ahead to Turkey Day?
By Kathy Lien, The U.S dollar rose to 4.5 year highs against the Japanese Yen and 16 month highs against the euro today as Treasury yields extended their gains. With Federal Reserve Chairman Powell’s renomination, investors doubled down on tightening next year. Some market participants looking for as many as three quarter point…
Dollar Soars on Fed Powell’s Renomination
By Kathy Lien, The U.S. dollar soared against all of the major currencies after President Biden officially renominated Jerome Powell as Federal Reserve Chairman. Dr. Lael Brainard, the only other realistic candidate will become Vice Chairman when Richard Clarida’s term ends in January. When it comes to central bankers investors generally prefer continuity…
Dollar shines, euro suffers as COVID fears flare over Europe
By Kevin Buckland TOKYO (Reuters) – The safe-haven U.S. dollar traded close to a 16-month high to the euro on Monday on growing anxiety over the impact of surging COVID-19 infections in Europe, with Austria reimposing a full lockdown and Germany considering following suit. The greenback was near its strongest since early October…
Dollar Dominance on Strong Retail Sales – More Gains Ahead?
By Kathy Lien, Investors bought U.S. dollars after retail sales rose for the third month in a row. The increase in demand was widely anticipated but the increase in overall spending along with spending ex autos beat expectations. This means that while higher prices certainly played a role in the gains, consumers were…
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