Dollar gains dominated the European morning on Wednesday after Fed Dudley’s hawkish comments overnight and the Euro dipped to below 1.0550 against the US currency, although rising German yields eased net selling pressure to some extent.
German consumer process rose 0.6% in February with the annual inflation rate rising to 2.2% from 1.9% previously and this was the highest rate for over four years.
With German unemployment continuing to decline, there will be expectations of higher wage settlements which could also unsettle the Bundesbank and increase pressure for a tighter monetary policy.
Uncertainty and GBP This is the word that dominates market thinking at present. No surprise that like the US Federal Reserve, the Bank of England left UK interest rates unchanged with that uncertainty overshadowing all markets plus the expectation of UK inflation rising from its current 3% rather than falling to the target of 2%. […]
OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development slashed their forecast for 2025 EU growth this week from 1.3% to 1.0%. Germany with slated growth of just 0.4% down from 0.7% was described with a rare touch of OECD humour as the weakest link. While better described as the prime culprit, the effect of flaccid […]
US Dollar Uncertainty in the USA caused by a consequential cocktail of on off on tariffs, inflation concerns, derailed interest rate policy, federal spending and higher taxes is outweighing the safe haven status of the Dollar. In more normal times, the Ukraine ceasefire brinkmanship between Russia and the USA would drive up the USD. Instead, […]