SGM-FX insights

US Presidential Election   With just over 2 months to go, it is worth understanding the importance of the Latino vote to the successful candidate. No Republican has won the Election without winning Florida since 1924 so Trump needs Florida as it represents 29 votes of the 270 electoral vote threshold that Trump needs to […]

European Inflation   For the first time since May 2016 Euro-Zone inflation entered negative territory last month which increased the chances of the European central Bank needing to inject further stimulus to generate price growth. Inflation in the 19 countries fell to minus 0.2% versus the ECB target of just under 2%. The implication is […]

Japan: Abe Resignation   Markets in Europe are opening to the confirmation of Japan PM Abe’s resignation on health grounds. USD/JPY was trading at 106.93 and rapidly fell to 106.07 as markets processed the news. While it was known that Abe was unwell, the fact that he has been PM since 2012 and he is […]

German Economy   Not just Germany but the rest of Europe are watching for signs of green shoots in Europe’s largest economy. The expectation is for Germany’s economy to grow by 7% in Q3 having contracted by 9.7% in Q2 although the recovery is still described as fragile. However with both manufacturing and services looking […]

Half Term Report for US-China Trade Deal   It all seems a long time ago but Phase 1 of the US-China trade deal was inked on January 15 and now the two sides plan to sit down to evaluate performance under the agreement on agricultural and manufactured goods and energy and services. Covid and the […]

Currencies and Hurricanes   The hurricane season officially starts each year on June 1 and lasts 5 months but normally is fiercest from the beginning of September until mid October. Currencies likewise tend to be more volatile in exactly the same period. True to form the USD traded at a 2 year low yesterday, GBP […]

U.S. Labour market   A further 262,649 job cuts in July were announced by U.S. employers yesterday reflecting more heat going out of the pre Covid U.S. employment market. This represents an increase of 54% over June’s figure and brings the total cuts year to date to 1.85 million. The record was set in 2001 […]

Soothsayer   In the last few weeks there has been a prominent voice siding with more radical interpretations of the status and path that the global economy is on. Claiming the beginning of the Dollar’s debasement, it is the voice of Goldman Sachs that now brings the market a stark warning about government debt and […]

Mexico   Like other countries with huge diaspora working overseas such as the Philippines, the amount of remittances or funds from those workers that are sent home each month is keenly watched in Mexico City. Despite evidence that suggests that casual workers have seen their earnings crater in most countries during LockDown, for Mexico at […]

How low can you go?   With Euro-Dollar at two year highs, the rapid sell-off in the Dollar is in question. The trade weighted Dollar index is flashing oversold suggesting the broad-based USD sell off that has been underway since June could be running out of steam. A direct counter party to many fx trades […]

GBP: the Pound Between the Scylla of a weak USD and the Charybdis of a strong EUR   Last week GBP finished a whisker short of USD 1.28 and notched up its best week for some time versus USD. Against the EUR however it was a different story. EUR strong at EUR/USD 1.1650 which meant […]

Nifty   The Nifty Index has lived up to its name: the Nifty (Fifty) comprises 50 of the largest Indian stocks on the National Stock Exchange and fleet of foot investors who bought on March 24 this year will be congratulating themselves today on a 43% rise in their fortunes with the Nifty Fifty now […]