Menu

Search

  |   Market Roundups

Menu

  |   Market Roundups

Search

Americas Roundup: Dollar falls as investors review Trump inauguration speech, Oil prices jump 2 pct ahead of producers' compliance meeting-January 21st, 2017


Market Roundup

•    Trump: Trade, tax, immigration & foreign affairs will be made to benefit Americans; US must protect against other countries taking US jobs; policy to be buy American/hire American.

•    Fed’s Harker: Fed should consider stopping balance sheet reinvestment after FF hits 1%, stricter trade policies seen as a risk to US economy growth.

•    Fed’s Williams: Monetary policy still boosting growth, need to hike rates before we get to goals so we don’t overshoot.

•    ECB’s Draghi: any country leaving euro zone must settle bill first.

•    EZ underlying inflation remains anemic: suggests ECB still far from scaling back accommodation- ECB survey.

•    Trump caution pushes EZ yields further away from 1-mo peaks; Caution in world markets supports Bunds.

•    ECB’s Coeure: EZ more resilient than 3-yrs ago, labor productivity growth sluggish, stimulus won’t last forever.

•    BOJ’s Kuroda: solid US growth may push up USD, upbeat on global outlook, overcoming deflation top policy priority.

Looking Ahead - Economic Data (GMT)

•    No Significant Data

Looking Ahead - Events, Other Releases (GMT)

•    No Significant Events

Currency Summaries

EUR/USD is likely to find support at 1.0606 levels and currently trading at 1.0693 levels. The pair has made session high at 1.0709 and hit lows at 1.0652 levels. The euro jumped against the U.S. dollar on Friday as dollar was weighted down after Donald Trump adopted a populist tone as he was sworn in as U.S. president, raising some concerns that fiscal stimulus efforts may be delayed. Trump pledged to pursue "America First" policies in an inaugural address that was a populist, anti-Washington rallying cry. The dollar index , which tracks the greenback against six major currencies, was little moved immediately following Trump's remarks, but trudged downward as investors unpacked the speech and saw news of the executive actions. The dollar index fell 0.3 percent. It has risen about 3 percent since Trump's Nov. 8 election victory, but has shed about 1.3 percent so far in January on growing concerns about Trump's protectionist rhetoric and recent comments about his dissatisfaction with the strong dollar. The euro last trading at $1.0694. It was on pace to gain 0.2 percent for the week, its fifth consecutive weekly rise.

GBP/USD is supported in the range of 1.2250 levels and currently trading at 1.2361 levels. It reached session high at 1.2380 and dropped to session low at 1.2291 levels. Sterling inched higher against US dollar on Friday as Donald Trump's inaugural speech as U.S. President reinforced worries for some investors about future trade policies. Dollar declined during the speech, and some strategists said the comments fueled investor concerns about potential protectionist trade policies under Trump, while others said the move in stocks was part of a trend to "buy the election and sell the inauguration. The Dollar rally since the election has stalled in recent weeks as investors waited for more clarity on his plans to boost the economy. Sterling had recovered from the early disappointment on Friday of the weakest UK retail sales figures in almost five years. Official national retail sales released on Friday saw the biggest fall since April 2012, dropping 1.9 percent month-on-month in December, which was far below economists forecasts of a 0.1 percent decline. The pound took two major beatings on Monday and Wednesday, but in between saw a 3 percent surge, its biggest leap since the 1990s.

USD/CAD is supported at 1.3292 levels and is trading at 1.3376 levels. It has made session high at 1.3376 and lows at 1.3304 levels. The Canadian dollar lost ground against its U.S. counterpart on Friday as Canadian dollar was pressured by weaker-than-expected domestic inflation and retail sales data just two days after the Bank of Canada left the door open to cutting interest rates. Canada's annual inflation rate rose to 1.5 percent in December from November's 1.2 percent, short of analysts' forecasts for an increase of 1.7 percent, data from Statistics Canada showed.Retail sales edged up 0.2 percent in November, which was shy of economists' expectations for an increase of 0.5 percent. On Wednesday, the Bank of Canada warned that a rate cut remained on the table, warning there would be "material consequences" if U.S. President-elect Donald Trump enacts protectionist policies. The Canadian dollar was trading at C$1.3351 to the greenback, or 74.90 U.S. cents, weaker than Thursday's close of C$1.3314, or 75.11 U.S. cents.

AUD/USD is supported around 0.7500 levels and currently trading at 0.7549 levels. It hit session high at 0.7556 and made session lows at 0.7526 levels. Australian dollar strengthened against US dollar on Friday as Australian dollar was supported by upbeat Chinese economic data and weaker dollar. Data from China showed the world's second-largest economy expanded 6.8 percent in the fourth quarter, compared with expectations of 6.7 percent, helped by higher government spending. China is Australia's No.1 trading partner while the Aussie is often seen as a liquid proxy for the yuan. The Australian dollar was last up 0.2 percent at $0.7554 after briefly climbing to $0.7589, a level not seen since Nov. 11.The Aussie is up about 1 percent this week and was on track to clock its fourth straight weekly gain. It is up 5.3 percent in January so far, making it one of the best performing major currencies in the world.

Equities Recap

European shares fell, posting their biggest weekly loss since before Donald Trump won the U.S presidential election in November, as investors grew cautious before his inauguration.

The UK's benchmark FTSE 100 closed down by 0.2 percent, FTSEurofirst 300 ended the day down by 0.02 percent, Germany's Dax ended up by0.2 percent, and France’s CAC finished the day up by 0.2 percent.

U.S. stocks closed higher on Friday in a modest but broad-based advance as Donald Trump was sworn in as U.S. President, marking the first time in more than 50 years that a new commander-in-chief has been welcomed by a rising equity market on his first day in office.

Dow Jones closed up by 0.47 percent, S&P 500 ended up 0.33 percent, Nasdaq finished the day up by 0.27 percent.

Treasuries Recap 

U.S. Treasury yields fell from two-and-a-half-week highs on Friday after Donald Trump adopted a populist tone as he was sworn in as U.S. president, raising some concerns that fiscal stimulus efforts may be delayed.

Benchmark 10-year notes  fell 3/32 in price to yield 2.47 percent, after earlier rising to 2.51 percent, the highest since Jan. 3. The yields have jumped from a low of 2.31 percent on Tuesday.

Commodities Recap

Oil prices rose more than 2 percent on Friday on expectations that this weekend's meeting of the world's top oil producers would demonstrate compliance to a global output cut deal, but rising U.S. drilling activity limited gains.

Brent crude ended the session up $1.33, or 2.5 percent, at $55.49 a barrel. U.S. crude for February delivery closed up by $1.05, or 2 percent, at $52.42 a barrel before expiring. The more active March contract settled up 2.1 percent at $53.22.

Gold prices turned up on Friday, as the dollar fell and U.S. Treasury yields came off their highs after Donald Trump was sworn in as U.S. president.

Spot gold was up 0.5 percent at $1,211.30 an ounce by 3:04 p.m. EST (2004 GMT), while U.S. gold futures settled up 0.3 percent at $1,204.90 per ounce.
 

  • Market Data
Close

Welcome to EconoTimes

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