Eyes on the Federal Reserve
Today sees the first-rate setting meeting of 2019 at the Federal Reserve. The market expectation is that they will leave rates unchanged but what is of much more focus is what is said about interest rate changes going forward. Will the Fed water down further expectations of rate rises given their concern that the US economy is still not sufficiently robust to withstand sharper rises? What is sure is that the Fed will not want to box themselves in to a fixed timetable of rate rises despite the market wanting to understand a well-choreographed programme. Therefore, expect some words around the Fed not able to be specific on this subject until further economic releases clarify the strength of the underlying US economy.
Meanwhile the USD is relatively unchanged and the focus in currency markets has been on GBP and the theatre in Westminster. After a wobble last night GBP has recovered some of its losses this morning and overall has declined approximately 0.5% against the major trading pairs. Brent Crude is back over $60, and the FTSE is slightly firmer at 6900.
For a change while we wait for the Fed and for TM to return to Brussels to do battle on the terms of the UK’s Brexit, today or rather this morning as I write the words of 10CC’s song Wall Street Shuffle do NOT apply!
Do the Wall Street Shuffle
Hear the money rustle
Watch the Greenback tumble
Feel the Sterling crumble
Discussion and Analysis by Humphrey Percy, Chairman and Founder
Opportunity for a weaker Dollar The passing of month-end allows markets an opportunity to reassess currency valuations. Despite a cooling off within the Dollar as forecasted following the agreement between the White House and Kevin McCarthy, month end flows yesterday showed favourable conditions for a short-term Dollar resurgence. The beginning of June coincided with headlines […]
Turkish Lira While President Erdogan removed the uncertainty overhanging the Turkish market by winning the election in the run off over the weekend, the news served to cement the certainty that nothing much was likely to change with respect to Turkish economic policy or indeed the subservient role of the Central Bank of Turkey to […]
Did EURUSD miss the news? Over the weekend, the President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives reached a much-awaited deal on the US debt ceiling. The impending constraint on debt could have forced the shutdown of government departments and precluded the US government from servicing costs and existing debts, triggering a default. The […]