SGM-FX insights

UK Infrastructure British electricity demand is expected to rise by 64% in the next 10 years and could double by 2050. This increase is in large part down to ambitious decarbonisation targets which result in a shift towards transport and heating for example being almost completely powered by electricity. The deadline for decarbonisation is 2035 […]

Stealth Whilst it may soon be ending, the latest economic paradigm that has endured globally has been one of high inflation and economies have been virtually defined by respective central banks’ race to adjust interest rates. Rates are now widely expected to fall later this year, but until they do I conjecture we are still […]

US Inflation So what? you might justifiably wonder at February US Inflation coming in at 3.2% versus the expected 3.1%. However such is the febrile state of the market psychology at present where every pundit and his/her dog are sifting through the auspices to work out when the Federal Reserve will cut US interest rates, […]

A tale of two cities In NYC office vacancies stand at 20% whereas in London it is 10%. The US commercial real estate market is set to get worse in the next 2 years and already c$660 billion in value has been destroyed between 2019 and 2022. It is estimated that up to 44% of […]

International Women’s Day Today we wish all our readers a Happy International Women’s Day which has become a thing over the years and is now BIG and something that we are marking at SGM-FX!GBP/USD 1.2765. Prosperity, Security and Democracy Those according to European People’s Party leader Ursula Von Der Leyen are the 500 million population’s […]

China At this week’s National People’s Congress, the 2024 economic targets for the People’s Republic of China were announced. Last year GDP growth officially came in at 5.2% but outside China estimates put it at 1-2%; however while it was acknowledged this week that there had been some issues with the Chinese economy in 2023, […]

Cocoa The world’s cocoa crop available for consumption has shrunk by 11% in the past year as a result of a combination of poor weather and supply disruption. The move in the NY ICE Cocoa contract is a clear reflection of what that means in real world terms: in March 2023 Cocoa stood at $2586 […]

Data resumes The start of this week was particularly data light. With most major pairs still trading within recent ranges, markets are missing a catalyst in inject volatility. That may be a welcome scenario but with the data calendar becoming increasingly dense over the coming trading sessions, let’s take a look at some potential risks. […]

Oil With further Houthi attacks in the Red Sea and freight rates pushed higher by the continuing Israel-Hamas war, unsurprisingly oil prices having risen on Monday continued to push upwards yesterday. The only thing keeping them from rising further is the prospect of President Biden’s sponsored ceasefire rumoured to take effect next Monday.Brent $ 82.70 […]

British Pound There really was something for everyone in Bank of England Governor Bailey’s comments yesterday. Firstly he said that the BoE was comfortable with the market’s view of the decline in UK interest rates -meaning one presumes both on extent and timing. Then he followed it up by saying that the UK labour market […]

EU Commission Instead of November’s EU growth forecast of 1.2%, the EU Commission has revised back its prediction to 0.8% for the growth in the gross domestic product of the 20 countries. The 2025 year however will see growth of 1.5%. Back to 2024, it is difficult for the EU bloc to grow much when […]

Germany With the German IFO or Business Climate Index down from 90.10 a year ago to its current level of 85.20, Germany’s business leaders are more realistic about the outlook for Europe’s largest economy than their political leaders. Chancellor Scholz wisely passed the speech making duties yesterday to one of his cohorts who managed with […]