Market News

ICYMI, New Fed Chair Powell testified before the House Banking Committee for over three hours yesterday, which pushed the Greenback higher on most pairs. And here are the key takeaways from his testimony that you need to know about.

Asian shares extended losses on Wednesday as weak Chinese Japanese manufacturing data revived worries about global growth amid anxiety over faster rate rises in the United States.

The dollar extended its gains from the previous session, but was upstaged by the yen when risk aversion and a few data misses pushed it higher.

Dollar bulls were relieved to find out that the new Fed head is set on continuing the central bank’s tightening plans, even throwing in a few upbeat remarks here and there.

NZD/USD bulls fail to break a major resistance area once again. Is it back to the bottom of the longer-term range?

The dollar hit a three-week peak on Tuesday after Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell’s remarks before U.S. lawmakers suggested a willingness to adopt a more hawkish stance if needed

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, pledging to “strike a balance” between the risk of an overheating economy and the need to keep growth on track, told U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday that the central bank would stick with gradual interest rate increases despite the added stimulus of tax cuts and government spending.

New orders for U.S.-made capital goods fell for a second straight month in January and shipments barely rose, pointing to a slowdown in business spending on equipment after robust growth in 2017.

Oil edged lower on Tuesday ahead of weekly data that is forecast to show a rise in U.S. crude inventories, although investor faith in OPEC’s ability to curtail production helped stem a larger price slide.

Price action was rather choppy during the morning London session. Even so, there were some themes that were clearly playing out, such as the pound getting whupped and demand for both the yen and the Greenback.

Some analysts are pointing to the “twin deficits” as a reason for why the dollar remains weak despite a hawkish Fed. What the heck does that mean anyway?

Japan’s steel industry wants the country to be excluded from any U.S. import curbs as steel from Japan poses no threat to the U.S. national security, the head of the steel federation said on Tuesday.

The United States will overtake Russia as the world’s biggest oil producer by 2019 at the latest, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Tuesday, as the country’s shale oil boom continues to upend global markets.

New Zealand’s return to trade deficit dragged Kiwi lower across the board. Meanwhile, other currencies traded on tight ranges ahead of Powell’s testimony.

International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde said on Tuesday the global economy was showing broad-based growth, but the landscape was shifting with heightened risks of trade disputes, monetary policy normalization and technological change.

All eyes and ears were on ECB head Draghi’s testimony as his optimistic outlook for the euro zone economy lifted the shared currency. Meanwhile, the Loonie took fresh hits on NAFTA jitters.

Sterling gave up all its earlier gains and was flat on the day thanks to a broad rebound in the dollar though hawkish comments from a central bank official boosted bets that interest rates may rise as early as May.

Oil slipped on Monday but still held close to its highest since early February, supported by comments from Saudi Arabia that it would continue to curb shipments in line with the OPEC-led effort to cut global supplies.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged her Christian Democrats (CDU) on Monday to approve a coalition deal with the Social Democrats (SPD), a step that would bring her closer to a fourth term.

There wasn’t much on the docket today. Even so, there was more than enough action to keep the session interesting, with the pound’s strength and the Loonie’s weakness being the most notable themes.