Market News

BOE’s Vlieghe gave a hawkish message earlier today that gave GBP another bullish infusion. JPY, meanwhile, was apparently weighed down by higher bond yields.

What exactly did the BOE and SNB say this week and how have they affected their local currencies? Here are the takeaways.

Asian session traders woke up to North Korea firing another missile in Japan’s direction but the spikes didn’t last for long.

Not so fast! While the upbeat U.S. headline CPI revived December Fed rate hike hopes, the scrilla was unable to hold on to its lead as fresh jitters on North Korea came up.

The spotlight was on the pound during the session, thanks to the BOE statement. And since the BOE hinted at a likely rate hike, the pound found itself surging higher.

The CPI isn’t the only top-tier economic report for the U.S. since the U.S. retail sales report is also scheduled for release. And I’ve got an Event Preview for that as well.

Sterling steadied just above $1.32 on Thursday, having pulled away from a one-year high the previous day, as traders waited for clues from the Bank of England on whether it might soon lift interest rates from record lows.

China posted a rare flurry of disappointing data on Thursday suggesting the world’s second-largest economy is finally starting to lose some momentum as borrowing costs rise.

Volatility was muted for major currencies save for the Aussie, which was sent all over the charts by Australia’s jobs report and China’s data dump.

Australia’s jobs blew past expectations to surge the most in two years in August, yet unemployment was static as more people looked for work, limiting upward pressure on wages, inflation and interest rates.

The U.S. dollar’s rally paused on Thursday as traders waited for consumer inflation data later in the day for clues on whether the Federal Reserve will maintain its gradual pace of credit tightening.

Gold edged down on Thursday to its lowest in nearly two weeks on waning risk aversion, and as the dollar steadied ahead of U.S. consumer inflation data that could offer clues on the timing of further interest rate hikes.

Asian stocks inched down from 10-year highs on Thursday following a burst of Chinese data which was largely weaker than markets expected, while the dollar held steady ahead of U.S. inflation data due later in the day.

Market factors such as the increased focus on tax reform, upbeat CPI expectations, and record highs for equity indices combined forces to lift the U.S. currency for the third day in a row this week.

The dollar steadied on Wednesday, with traders wary of taking new positions on the currency ahead of inflation data due on Thursday.

Choppy session today, but GBP was on the move since it was kicked lower when U.K. wage growth failed to impress. Meanwhile, CAD was higher and NZD dipped.

The last CPI report before next week’s FOMC statement will be released tomorrow. And if you need to get up to speed, then you better start reading up.

Britain’s top share index dropped on Wednesday as sterling held at a one-year high, weighing on the FTSE’s foreign-earning firms including miners, pharma stocks and big consumer staples.

Not a lot of market-moving reports printed during the Asian session, so traders focused on extending themes from the previous sessions.

The dollar was buoyant against the yen on Wednesday, although it was capped against the euro with a potentially supportive spike in U.S. yields neutralized by a similar move by their German counterparts.