October 31, 2013 – The Plot

October 31
2013

Dollar Jumps vs. Euro on QE Tampering Speculations

The US dollar jumped against the euro today on speculations that the Federal Reserve may perform quantitative easing tampering rather soon. The currency was flat versus the Great Britain pound and fell against the Japanese yen. Market participants speculate that the Fed may slow the pace of its asset purchases as early as January or perhaps even in December and positive macroeconomic data supports such outlook. The October Chicago Business Barometer rose […]

October 31
2013

Yen Jumps as Bank of Japan Issues Optimistic Forecast

The Japanese yen jumped today after the central bank maintained its extremely accommodative monetary policy, but boosted growth forecasts and signaled that inflation may reach the target next year. The Bank of Japan kept interest rates near zero and the size of annual asset purchases at ¥60–70 trillion. The central bank increased expected growth of gross domestic product in 2014 to 1.5 percent up from the previous prediction of 1.3 percent. […]

October 31
2013

CAD Higher for Now, but More Weakness Could Come

Canadian dollar is higher today, but more weakness could be on the way. For now, the loonie is gaining against its major counterparts as it appears that the economy is still in expansion mode, albeit at a slightly slower pace. Statistics Canada reports that the economy expanded 0.3 per cent in August. This is down from the 0.6 per cent expansion seen in July. However, many aren’t too […]

October 31
2013

GBP/JPY Drops on Consumer Confidence, GBP/USD Erases Losses

The Great Britain pound dropped versus the Japanese yen today with the decline of consumer confidence, but erased losses versus the US dollar after the positive report about house prices. Nationwide House Price Index rose 1.0 percent in October, exceeding the forecast of 0.7 percent. At the same time, the GfK Consumer Confidence Index declined from -10 in September to -11 in October. The mixed data resulted in the mixed performance of the sterling. GBP/USD […]

October 31
2013

ECB Rate Cut May Come After All

The latest economic data out of the eurozone is somewhat disappointing — and indicative of continued economic malaise in the 17-nation currency region. Concerns are rising about what’s next for the euro, and there is speculation that the ECB will have to cut rates, even though an official just recently indicated that wasn’t a preferred option. The euro is down as a result. The European Union‘s statistics office has released the latest inflation data, and it […]

October 31
2013

AUD/USD Rises as Building Permits Surge

The Australian dollar rose against its US counterpart today, supported by very good housing data. The Aussie was flat against the Japanese yen. Australian building approvals surged 14.4 percent in September after falling 1.6 percent in the preceding month. The actual reading was high above the forecast of 2.9 percent. Such data suggests that an interest rate cut from the Reserve Bank of Australia is not required for aiding […]

October 31
2013

Small Decline of EUR/USD Turns into Massive Slump

Yesterday’s drop of EUR/USD was relatively small, but it turned into a huge decline today. The major reason for this was a bunch of negative reports from Europe, but good data from the United States also added to the weakness of the currency pair. Initial jobless claims fell from 350k to 340k last week, matching forecasts. (Event A on the chart.) Chicago PMI rose to 65.9 in October from 55.7 in September. It […]

October 31
2013

NZD Retreats After Rally

The New Zealand dollar slipped today after yesterday’s advance. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand kept monetary policy unchanged, but maintained its hawkish bias, signaling about possible interest rate hike next year. The RBNZ left the Official Cash Rate (OCR) unchanged at 2.5 percent yesterday. The central bank hinted that a strong currency may lead to a delay of a rate hike: Sustained strength in the exchange rate that […]

October 31
2013

Dollar Gains After FOMC Meeting, Shrugs Off Poor Employment

The US dollar was firm after the meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee as the resulting statement was less dovish than market participants have expected. The greenback retained strength despite poor employment data. The FOMC statement was rather optimistic: The Committee sees the downside risks to the outlook for the economy and the labor market as having diminished, on net, since last fall. Nevertheless, the Committee considered that it is too early to think […]

Day: October 31, 2013