SGM-FX insights

Markets   With US officials now playing down the likelihood of a US-China trade deal at the forthcoming G20 at the end of this week, there are two takeaways for seasoned market watchers: first there is little likelihood of a trade deal given the well known entrenched positions of the protagonists and second the USA […]

Group of 20     How many sets of eyes and ears do you really need in order to react quickly to the set of discussions taking place in Osaka, Japan this Friday? A minimum for 10 pairs, assuming each leader has a conversation with at least one other person and doesn’t have a solitary […]

Tango Time     Alright it’s not September yet, Strictly’s not back on TV and our tango won’t star one sequin clad pro and an overweight celebrity Ed Balls with far too much enthusiasm to be healthy (sorry Ed). But the composition of the showdown between the two potential next leaders of the Conservative Party […]

ECB   Mario Draghi talked tough yesterday reiterating that the ECB will not be shy of taking action in support of the EU economy in a period of weakening growth and uncertainty, citing populism and inevitably Brexit. The Euro strengthened, bond yields rose and after a day of up and down trading the net move […]

Mexican Peso and Markets Round Up   President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador of Mexico not only believes but the market believes that he will pull off what most thought to be unattainable-namely no tariffs between Mexico and the USA and all by June 10 ie this coming Monday. The Mexico Peso has performed best of the […]

China: The Dead Spread   When I worked on the floor of the Chicago Futures Market, traders watched and traded the price differential between spot prices of pork meat and the futures price of live hogs. It was less than charmingly named the Dead Spread. Pork as we all know is a fundamental of the […]

AUDJPY   From the title you might think well, I don’t trade Aussie Dollars, come to think of it I’ve never been there in my life. Similarly, I’ve never had a Japanese Yen to my name, why on earth would I consider the exchange rate between the currencies of these two countries that are at […]

Markets: Crypto and Oil   If you thought that Bitcoin had had its day, think again: a month ago it stood at £4000 having spent the previous 3 months stuck at £3000. And now? £6000! While in no way advocating crypto we do spend some of our time asking why such a move has occurred? […]

South Africa   The news that incumbent ANC President managed not only to arrest the decline in his party’s share of the vote but reverse it to win 57.5% is a small but encouraging step for the ZAR and the nation.   US-China Trade War/Talks   Hard on the heels of the imposition of US […]

Markets   With global equity markets weaker across the board, WTI Oil steady but still weak at $61.51, markets are absorbing latest news from the ongoing Sino-US talks and the imposition of US tariffs on $200billion of goods, the fact that shale oil could be produced at as low a cost as $15 and concerns […]

Trump is like a box of chocolates; you never know which one you’re going to get.     Noel, I’m ready for the question: deal or no deal? Perhaps the bluntness of the presenter of the (in)famous Channel Four television show would be welcomed in Sino-US trade talks. Markets yesterday took badly to the whimsical […]

  Markets   Big news this week has been the fallback in oil prices to WTI at $61. All eyes in the US and globally on the tea leaves following the Fed’s remarks this week and of course the forthcoming employment data. Bank of England upbeat about UK employment and Governor Carney said yesterday that […]