The UK July PMIs show a slowing in the rate of expansion in both the service and manufacturing sectors. The UK Services PMI Business Activity Index fell to 53.3 in July, down from 54.3 in June, hitting a 17-month low. The manufacturing PMI in the United Kingdom fell to 52.2 from 54.3 in June, reaching a 25-month low.
Capacity constraints due to a lack of...
The European Central Bank raised interest rates by half a percentage point at its July 2022 meeting, the first hike in eleven years, terminating eight years of negative rates and speeding up efforts to return to the medium-term inflation objective of 2%. The ECB also hinted that it will keep raising interest rates at its next meetings, using a data-dependent...
Ten years after rescuing the euro with the iconic "Whatever it takes", Mario Draghi resigns as Italian Prime Minister, as the political parties that formed his majority no longer backed him.
The uncertainty surrounding the upcoming general election reigns supreme, and the political crisis in Italy risks putting further downward pressure on the Italian FTSE MIB (...
During its July meeting, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) voted 8-1 to keep its key short-term interest rate ( JPINTR ) at -0.1% and 10-year bond yields ( JP10Y ) around 0%.
However, it lowered its GDP growth forecast for 2022 from 2.9% in April to 2.4%, mentioning slowing global growth and problems with the supply chain caused by the long war in Ukraine. On top of that,...
Henry Hub ( US natural gas ) prices have fallen 25% from their peak of $9.64 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) hit in June, as the fire at Freeport LNG’s natural gas liquefaction plant reduced U.S. export capacity by an estimated 2.0 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) or approximately 15% of annual volumes.
The major driver behind the spectacular rise in...
The US dollar shows no signs of rebound following a three-day losing streak, with EUR/USD breaking above the 1.02 barrier yesterday and surging to 1.024 as of this writing, boosted by rising speculation of a half-percentage point hike at tomorrow’s ECB meeting.
The case for a hawkish half-point increase has gathered traction over the past hours following...
The dollar index ( DXY ) fell to 106.3 (-0.7% on the day), its lowest level since July 6th, as traders reduced expectations for a full percentage point rate rise by the Federal Reserve next week and risk appetite returned.
Fed interest rate futures now price in a 75-basis-point-hike in the next FOMC meeting with a 67% probability, according to the latest CME...
The latest Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) minutes, which opened the door to more interest rate hikes, may provide only marginal support to the Australian dollar when compared to the US dollar ( AUD/USD ).
Stronger global economic growth, a Chinese industrial recovery, more risk appetite among investors, and widespread gains in commodity prices are required for...
Gold prices enjoyed a good start to the week, as investors scaled back their expectations for a massive Fed rate hike by a full percentage point in July, and after China announced further liquidity stimulus to cope with rising Covid-19 cases and housing debt problems.
The latest economic events have all helped to alleviate worries of an imminent recession in the...
Gold is seeking to establish support at the psychological $1,700/oz level, the lowest price since August 2021.
It is the fifth consecutive week that bullion has been in the negative, with prices now 17% down from their February highs.
The latest slump in the yellow metal was exacerbated by market repricing on Federal Reserve interest rate rises, as the U.S....
The euro-dollar pair ( EUR/USD ) achieved parity today, an occurrence not seen in nearly two decades (November 2002), as a fresh energy crisis in Europe threatens the onset of a recession.
It's been a rough year for the euro, losing nearly 11% of its value versus the dollar since January and 15% over the last 12 months.
The short-term (2-year) bond yields...
US NATURAL GAS prices plunged by 13% to $5.5/MMBtu, the lowest level since March, as a result of investors' unfavourable reactions to recent EIA data that revealed a larger-than-expected storage build.
Last week, utilities in the United States added 82 billion cubic feet (bcf) of gas to storage, well beyond analysts' projections of 74 bcf.
NATURAL GAS ...
The euro-Swiss franc ( EUR/CHF ) exchange rate is in the spotlight today as the pair returned to hit parity for the second time since early March.
The eurozone's worsening economic outlook continues to push ( EUR/CHF ) lower, and the market appears to be giving more credit to the Swiss National Bank's (SNB) ability to continue rising rates to curb...
This week, copper plummeted to fresh 52-week lows, breaking below the $4 per pound support level held since April 2021. Prices have now reached oversold territory as the 14-day RSI went below 30 this week, and is currently trading at 22, reflecting the brown metal’s severe sell-off.
Moving averages have also created a so-called death-cross pattern, with the...
The USD/JPY daily chart shows a bearish divergence pattern as prices surged to new 20-year highs this week, while the relative strength index (14-day RSI) declined significantly from overbought levels.
The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) is nearing a bearish crossover, as the MACD line (blue line) is sloping lower and may intersect the signal line...
The AUD/USD daily chart formed a double bottom at 0.685 last week, a level reached by the pair in mid-May before rebounding to 0.727.
A double bottom is a chart pattern that consists of two pretty equal lows separated by a tiny peak that creates a 'neckline.' It often occurs near the end of a downward trend and may foreshadow a positive reversal.
The last...
The Swiss franc ( USD/CHF ) rallied against the dollar in London morning trading, after the Swiss National Bank (SNB) unexpectedly raised interest rates by half a percentage point to -0.25%, shocking the market which had anticipated rates to remain unchanged.
Rising inflationary pressures prompted the SNB's unexpected rate rise, after Switzerland's inflation...
US natural gas prices posted their worst daily performance since mid-November 2018 today, plummeting 17% to $7.2/MMBtu, as of writing, after Freeport LNG announced early Tuesday morning that it does not expect the export facility to resume full plant operations until late 2022 due to the explosion occurred on June 8.
The Freeport LNG facility has a production...
