SGM-FX insights

Yes! No! Yes! NO! YES…! Maybe.   Well, that’s the Pound covered in a headline. Overnight, announcements claiming that the European Union and the United Kingdom were millimetres away from securing a deal for post-exit financial services allowed the Pound to secure an enormous bid. The fun came to an end momentarily at 10AM with […]

Porcupine Pound:   It was apparent as of market open this morning that the Pound had managed to secure a stronger footing. Stemming largely from a mild improvement in Brexit sentiment, the Pound soon recovered off of its 1.2701 lows against the US Dollar, even breaking through 1.13 against the Euro on two occasions this […]

Out for a penny, out for the Pound:   The Pound faced another day of horrors losing as much one half of one percent on a trade weighted basis versus its peers. Following the most generous budget for 10 years, investors have confirmed their sentiment that Brexit is all that matters now. With the deadline […]

Not such a budget Budget!   The Chancellor delivered his budget speech this afternoon to the House of Commons. The event, as expected, received little market fall out as investors largely disregarded the spending promises given the political tumult caused by Brexit. Nevertheless, the news was positive: upgraded growth forecasts from the Office for Budget […]

Clarida’s Confessions:   The Dollar continued its rampant appreciation this morning following the testimony of the Federal Reserve’s Vice Chairman, Richard Clarida. In the first major speech of his appointment, the American economist sided with further US monetary policy tightening. The Vice Chair did not appear concerned by equity market evolutions in the previous weeks […]

Elephant in the Room:   The European Central Bank published its latest monetary policy decision today, with the European monetary authority leaving interest rates unchanged. The Bank held the main refinancing rate at 0% with the deposit rate, the reward for holding funds at the bank overnight, at -0.40. The ultra-accommodative monetary policy stance is […]

Auspicious Start…   The Rand has lost close to 1% on a trade weighted basis today alone. The depreciation of the South African currency has occurred despite the intraday appreciation of the broader basket of emerging market currencies. Presenting the mid-term budget statement, South Africa’s new Finance Minister, Tito Mboweni, announced that South Africa’s fiscal […]

48%; 52%; 95%!   European Integration has progressed at a minimum of two different and distinct paces since 1992 and the signing of the Maastricht Treaty. Those travelling at the first place, the most advanced threshold of integration within the union, is populated by member states participating in the shared currency, operating under an enhanced […]

Playground squabbles   The Dollar is on the rise with the Pound and the Euro feeling the pressure of increased political uncertainty. The Dollar’s early bid of the week stems from the White House’s suggestion over the weekend that arms treaties with Russia should be suspended. Amidst an incumbent crisis in Saudi Arabia, the elevated […]

Sorry, come again?   Trouble throughout the Eurozone, the United States and the UK makes for interesting trading within the world’s most popularly traded currency pairs. Marked by a spike in the VIX, a volatility index traded on the Chicago Board of Options Exchange, which currently carries a 19 handle, price movements across the board […]

Sorry, come again?   Finally, things become a little clearer on the progress of the European Council Summit in Brussels. Or do they? One of the most popular reports emanating from the seismic event in the Belgian capital purports that German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, found British Prime Minister Theresa May’s speech so unsure and nervous […]

Summit’s Brewin’:   Following weak CPI inflation data this morning, Sterling faced an almost unrelenting headwind. Losing a value of almost 0.5% in the first 30 minutes of European trading against the Euro, the Pound found little footing from rumours seeping out of Brussels. Weak CPI data came as a surprise to traders and investors […]