SGM-FX insights

  Over the past couple of days, Sterling has enjoyed two optimistic and seemingly genuine rallies that have ultimately all but dissipated within a matter of hours. Yesterday, Robin Walker, the Undersecretary of State for the Department for Exiting the European Union, or David Davis’ sidekick as he might be better known, suggested that the […]

  The European Central Bank has done very little to benefit the Euro in the past days and weeks. Following the ECB Bank Rate decision on the 8th March the Euro has underperformed. The rhetoric that emerged during the early afternoon press conference following the monetary policy decision has been sustained by a number of […]

… Not for the Rand!   The political overhaul in South Africa is mesmeric. The entrenchment of the previous incumbent regime throughout society, trade and politics was hard to understate. The release of the African National Congress from the grips of Zuma and his family afforded the Rand considerable value, propelling the Rand down from […]

As Brexit dominates the Pound, economics and monetary policy dominates the Dollar, and political scandal dominates the Rand, FX markets may start sounding like a broken record. However, one should remain very much aware that this repetition and almost paradigmatic taxonomy of certain currencies is more fragile than it may seem. Even the slightest amelioration […]

Discussion and Analysis by Grace Gliksten:   The interest rate is a monetary policy tool used by central banks to manipulate the macroeconomy. Representing both the reward for saving and the cost of borrowing, interest rates can manipulate the attractiveness of prospective domestic currency exposures.   Unsurprisingly, the Bank of England decided not to raise […]

  The weekend did not arrive without a fight, particularly for the US Dollar. The labour market in the US, and economic impressions of it, had been argued to be the only potential saving grace of the ailing Dollar. The all-important payrolls report was published on Friday providing a detailed snapshot of the labour market […]

Yesterday, the US Dollar was the winner within the three major currencies. The Dollar appreciated against the Euro to drive the EURUSD rate down below 1.1920. Similarly, against the Pound, the Dollar threatened to break below 1.35; a move that was realised this morning. Despite a largely benign public reaction to Theresa May’s cabinet reshuffle, […]

Overview:   Towards the end of last week, the Dow Jones soared above $25,000.00, whilst the Dollar continued its decline. The two are unlikely to be mere coincidence as the weaker Dollar supports the activities of the outwardly orientated, international, blue-chip companies that populate the industrial index. In the UK, whilst the move has been […]

Discussion and Analysis by Charles Porter:   In a year that could see the further normalisation of developed economies’ monetary policies as well as the restoration of volatility and geo-political risk; fortune may well favour the brave. However, on this, the first trading day of the New Year, fortune also appears to favour Sterling, with […]

    The Pound initially recovered its post-Christmas losses this morning. Moreover, marginal volatility appears to have returned to foreign exchange markets. On the final trading day before 2018, the EUR-USD currency cross continues its impressive attempt to retest 1.20. The currency pair broke this level in September, and presently trades just 8 pips short […]

The forex market this morning has largely extended the trends that began yesterday: the US Dollar continues to shed considerable value; the Euro appears stronger against most of its G-10 counterparts; and the Pound’s performance is highly mixed. This morning, Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni accelerated the aggregated political risk surrounding the Euro. The Italian […]

Following Christmas, currency markets appear lethargic too. The low liquidity environment of the end of the year has seen most currencies stay within a very tight and unthreatening channel. Today, the biggest major mover of the day was the US Dollar. Today’s market movements seem rather reminiscent of the entire year: a mixed pound sterling, […]