Menu

Search

  |   Market Roundups

Menu

  |   Market Roundups

Search

Americas Roundup: Dollar advances as traders look to Yellen for rate hike clues, U.S. crude down 3 pct after big stockpile build-August 25th ,2016

Market Roundup

•    US June home prices up 0.2% m/m unchanged from May, y/y 5.6% unchanged as well.

•    US existing home sales -3.2% in July vs -0.4% forecast; Homes available for sale drop 5.8% y/y.

•    Oil down more than 2% after big U.S. crude stock build renews oversupply worries.

•    Brazil's Meirelles: long-term austerity key to exit crisis, says Brazil economy could recover more rapidly than expected.

•    US money market assets increased in latest week, Taxable funds +27.72bn/tax-free -11.64 billion.

Looking Ahead - Economic Data (GMT)

•    23:50 Japan Foreign Bond Investment w/e 1297.5b-previous

•    23:50 Japan Foreign Invest JP Stock w/e 94.7b- previous

Looking Ahead - Events, Other Releases (GMT)

•    No Significant Events

Currency Summaries

EUR/USD is likely to find support at 1.1175 levels and currently trading at 1.1263 levels. The pair has made session high at 1.1324 and hit lows at 1.1321 levels. Euro declined against the dollar on Wednesday as the dollar strengthened and markets looked ahead to a speech by Federal Reserve. Janet Yellen is scheduled to address a meeting of central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, at 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT) on Friday. Recent hawkish comments from Fed policymakers have raised investors' expectations that she might adopt a less cautious tone on rates. Data showed a fall in U.S. existing home sales for the month of July did not have much impact on the dollar. The report from the National Association of Realtors showed U.S. new home sales surged to nearly a nine-year high last month. The euro, which had fallen to a fresh one-week low against the U.S. dollar, was last down 0.35 percent to $1.1264.

GBP/USD is supported in the range of 1.3160 currently trading at 1.3233 levels. It reached session high at 1.3270 and hit low at 1.3208 levels. Sterling traded above $1.3200 to hit three-week high on Wednesday, as investors continued to cut bearish bets against the currency after recent data indicated that UK economy was holding up surprisingly well after the Brexit vote. However, the currency pair retreated in the early US session as traders booked profits unwinding bullish bets against the currency pair. Sterling has already rose 1.3 percent against the dollar this week on top of 1.2 percent of gains last week, underpinned by recent upbeat data. Data released on Tuesday showed orders for British manufacturing exports hit a two-year peak in August. That comes after July inflation and retail sales numbers released last week beat forecasts, adding to signs that consumers had yet to rein in spending after Britain's vote in June to leave the European Union.

USD/CAD is supported at 1.2880 levels and is trading at 1.2923 levels. It has made session high at 1.2957 and lows at 1.2908 levels. The Canadian dollar declined against its U.S. counterpart on Wednesday as oil fell, but gained slight ground as investors turned their attention to a speech by U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen on Friday. Oil fell on an unexpected increase in U.S. crude stockpiles that revived worries about the supply glut that has capped prices for the past two years. The U.S. dollar rose against a basket of major currencies ahead of a gathering of global central bankers later this week in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where the focus will be on Friday's keynote speech by Federal Reserve Chair Janet. Canadian dollar was last trading at C$1.2928 to the greenback, or 77.27 U.S. cents, weaker than Tuesday's close of C$1.2910, or 77.46 U.S. cents.

AUD/USD is supported around 0.7552 levels and currently trading at 0.7613 levels. It hit session high at 0.7631 and made session lows at 0.7596 levels. The Australian dollar edged lower against US dollar on Wednesday following decline in oil prices and investors were reluctant to take big positions ahead of a speech by the U.S. Federal Reserve Chair later in the week. The Australian dollar edged down to $0.7596, having been trapped for the past three sessions in a narrow band of $0.7584 to $0.7612.It touched a three-month high of $0.7760 earlier in August but has recently been plagued by conflicting views on U.S. monetary policy. Investors now await fresh clues from the Fed Chief at the central bankers' annual gathering in Jackson Hole.

Equities Recap

European shares rose on Wednesday, helped by a buoyant banking sector, while a disappointing update from British miner Glencore dragged the mining sector lower.

UK's benchmark FTSE 100 closed down by 0.5 percent, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 ended the day up by 0.28 percent, Germany's Dax ended up by 0.3 percent, France’s CAC finished the day up by 0.3 percent.

Wall Street retreated on Wednesday, pulled lower by weakness in the materials and healthcare sectors as investors continued to weigh the possibility of an interest rate hike in the coming months.

Dow Jones closed down by 0.34 percent, S&P 500 ended down by 0.51 percent, Nasdaq finished the day down by 0.79 percent.

Treasuries Recap

U.S. Treasuries were steady on Wednesday as investors awaited a speech by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen on Friday for new indications on when the U.S. central bank will raise interest rates.

Benchmark 10-year notes fell 2/32 in price to yield 1.56 percent, up from 1.55 percent on Tuesday. The yields have traded between 1.45 percent and 1.63 percent since mid-July.

Commodities Recap

Gold dipped 1 percent to a four-week low on Wednesday as the dollar strengthened and markets looked ahead to a speech by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen that will be closely watched for further clues on U.S. interest rate policy.

Spot gold was down 1 percent at $1,324.66 an ounce by 3:06 p.m. EDT (1906 GMT).U.S. gold futures for December delivery settled down 1.2 percent at $1,329.70.

Oil prices tumbled on Wednesday, with U.S. crude settling about 3 percent lower, after an unexpectedly large inventory build in the world's biggest oil consumer renewed worries about oversupply.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures settled down $1.33, or 2.8 percent, at $46.77 per barrel. Brent crude futures fell 91 cents, or 1.8 percent, to close at $49.05.
 

  • Market Data
Close

Welcome to EconoTimes

Sign up for daily updates for the most important
stories unfolding in the global economy.