Dollar firms as U.S. inflation poses next test

By Tom Westbrook SYDNEY (Reuters) – The dollar made a steady start to the week in Asia on Monday but stayed below Friday peaks, as currency traders seek a path between markets’ volatile rate projections and central bankers vowing a wait-and-see approach despite surging inflation. The next big test of faith in the…

Dollar in driver’s seat as payrolls loom; sterling battered

By Kevin Buckland TOKYO (Reuters) – The dollar was on course for a second straight week of gains against major peers on Friday, ahead of a key U.S. jobs report that could sway the timing of Federal Reserve interest rate increases. Sterling headed for its worst week in 11 after the Bank of…

USD Dips (Slightly) on Fed Taper, Could BoE Hike Rates?

By Kathy Lien The Federal Reserve has made it official. Starting later this month, they will reduce their monthly bond purchases by $15 billion ($10 billion Treasuries, $5 billion mortgage backed securities). By June 2022, the bond buying program should come to an end. The Fed explains that pandemic stimulus can start to…

USD Outlook – $15B Taper is Magic Number for FOMC

By Kathy Lien, For the first time since the pandemic began, the Federal Reserve will reduce the stimulus they provided during COVID-19 crisis. Given the significance of this move and what it means for the central bank’s economic outlook, the U.S. dollar should be trading much higher. However, there’s been very little demand…

BOJ debated fate of COVID-relief scheme, one called for phase-out – Sept minutes

By Leika Kihara TOKYO (Reuters) -Bank of Japan policymakers debated the fate of a pandemic-relief loan scheme at their September meeting, with one of them proposing phasing it out when the economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis subsides, minutes of the meeting showed. Members agreed the BOJ must maintain its ultra-easy monetary policy…

ECB vs. US Q3 GDP – What Matters More to EUR/USD?

By Kathy Lien Buckle your seatbelts because the next 24 hours will be a busy one for the foreign exchange market. There are two monetary policy announcements, German labor market and inflation numbers scheduled for release along with the third quarter U.S. GDP report. Between the Bank of Japan and European Central Bank…

Bank of Canada Expected to Taper, So Why is CAD Falling?

By Kathy Lien Of the 3 monetary policy announcements this week, the Bank of Canada’s is the most important. Back in April the Bank of Canada set the ball rolling by becoming the first major central bank to cut bond purchases. They followed up with additional policy normalization moves in July and are…

FX: Big Week Ahead, What to Watch

By Kathy Lien Three central bank monetary policy announcements, inflation and GDP reports from the U.S. and Eurozone makes for a busy trading week. Big tech names like Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google are also scheduled to release earnings and the S&P500’s new highs tell us that investors are looking for good results.…

Dollar catches footing as inflation pressures rates outlook

By Tom Westbrook SINGAPORE (Reuters) – The dollar steadied on Monday after its steepest weekly loss in more than a month, as traders weigh the effect of inflation on the relative pace of looming rate hikes – with a wary eye on U.S. growth data and a European Central Bank meeting. The greenback…

Dollar higher on upbeat U.S. data but set for weekly losses

By Alun John HONG KONG (Reuters) – The dollar was firmer early on Friday, helped higher by upbeat economic data though was headed for its second week of declines while commodities currencies slipped as traders rejigged their positions after this week’s brisk rally. Better jobs and housing data and rising U.S. Treasury yields…