Author: FX

© Reuters. U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin meets with Ukraine’s Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov to discuss how to help Ukraine defend itself, at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, January 20, 2023. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay By Idrees Ali and Sabine Siebold RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany (Reuters) -The United States and its allies failed during talks in Germany to convince Berlin to provide its Leopard battle tanks to Ukraine, a key demand from Kyiv as it tries to breath new momentum into its fight against Russian forces. As protesters in Berlin called on their government to provide the tanks, the talks among military…

The price of WTI crude oil futures for February is settling up $0.98 or 1.22% at $81.31. The high price reached $81.91. Low price was at $79.91.For the March contract it is settling at $81.64 up $1.03For the trading week, the price is up 2.18%The 100 day moving average for crude oil is currently at $82.46. The level will be a key target on the top side to get through if the buyers are to take more control.Crude oil looks toward the 100 day moving averageThe Baker Hughes rig count released earlier today showed:Total rigs down to four at 771.…

<p>The major stock indices are moving higher led by the NASDAQ which is up nearly 2% as Feds Waller's comments are less hawkish than a feared.</p><ul><li>Dow Industrial Average is up 155 points or 0.47% at 33199.71</li><li>S&P is up 48.24. or 1.24 percent at 3947.01</li><li>NASDAQ index is up 213.41 points or 1.96% at 11065.32</li></ul><p>The NASDAQ index is back above its 100 day moving average at 11001.93. It is still well below the high price reached on Wednesday at 11223.41. Stay above the 100 day moving average keeps the buyers and play for more upside potential. The 38.2% retracement comes in at…

GBP/USD seesaws during the North American session, around the 1.2360-1.2390 region, around the London Fix, unable to gain a clear direction. Risk appetite increased, which usually favors the Pound Sterling (GBP), but soft UK economic data weighed on the GBP/USD. At the time of writing, the GBP/USD exchanges hands at 1.2391. Read More…   GBP/USD is on the back foot, having faced rejection at 1.2400. Economists at Scotiabank expect the pair to move higher and retest key resistance at 1.2450/60. Read More…   GBP/USD takes offers to refresh intraday low near 1.2350 as UK Retail Sales disappoint during early Friday. It’s worth noting, however,…

GBP/USD is almost flat due to the US Dollar erasing its earlier gains and on a risk-on impulse. Data in the US showed that the housing market remains dampened, a headwind for the US Dollar. Fed’s Waller: Supports 25 bps rate hikes, though does not expect rate cuts by year-end. GBP/USD seesaws during the North American session, around the 1.2360-1.2390 region, around the London Fix, unable to gain a clear direction. Risk appetite increased, which usually favors the Pound Sterling (GBP), but soft UK economic data weighed on the GBP/USD. At the time of writing, the GBP/USD exchanges hands at…

The Fed will have to keep rates high and not cut rates by the end of 2023Market perception of terminal rate is not far from where we areMarket expectations for rate cuts later this year is driven by optimism inflation will melt awayThe Fed does not expect inflation Inflation Inflation is defined as a quantitative measure of the rate in which the average price level of goods and services in an economy or country increases over a period of time. It is the rise in the general level of prices where a given currency effectively buys less than it did…

<p>ECBs Holzmann is speaking to Austrian newspaper Die Presse and says:</p><ul><li>I expect multiple rate hikes of 50 basis points, at least in the 1H of 2023</li><li>Core inflation is above 5%, which is 2 1/2 times our target</li><li>there could be rate hikes if headline inflation has fallen significantly, but core inflation has not.</li><li>I am reluctant to say inflation has peaked because core inflation has not. </li><li>It could take two – three years to bring <a href="https://www.forexlive.com/terms/i/inflation/" class="terms__secondary-term" id="ad51a5a2-1afc-4f42-9e62-ea6faf6f90fa" target="_blank">inflation</a> down to target, or longer</li></ul><p>The <a href="https://www.forexlive.com/terms/e/eur-usd/" class="terms__main-term" id="a68cd323-8af1-4ecb-a8dd-0aa83e90da63" target="_blank">EURUSD</a> remains near the high of the US session . The price is…

A risk-on impulse favored risk-perceived currencies like the Australian Dollar. The US housing market continues to deteriorate, as shown by Existing Home Sales plunging. Fed officials favor a deceleration of rate hikes, though the higher-for-longer stance remains unchanged. The AUD/USD edged higher in the mid-North American session on Friday, following a soft employment report from Australia that spurred a fall beneath 0.6900. Friday, the story is different, with the AUD/USD recovering some ground while the US Dollar (USD) is pairing its earlier gains. At the time of writing, the AUD/USD is trading at 0.69600, above its opening price by 0.74%.…

> Feds Waller: Supports 25 basis point hikes. See’s encouraging signs of wage moderation Favors a 25 basis point rate hike at the upcoming meeting and continued policy tightening beyond thatWe have made progress is still considerable way to go toward 2% inflation goalBy early December that the policy stance was a slightly restrictive, time to slow, but not all the rate hikesRecent CPI report good news, but don’t want to be head fakeStill cautious about inflation Inflation Inflation is defined as a quantitative measure of the rate in which the average price level of goods and services in an…

Fed Governor speaking for the first time since November The final Fed speaker will be speaking at the top of the hour. Federal Reserve Governor CHristopher Waller will be speaking. Waller – being a Governor – has a permanent vote on the FOMC board. He has last spoken back in November. So hearing his views now will be key. He tends to tilt to the more hawkish side increasing his importance especially if he is less hawkish.Given the storyline from many that the Fed has more work to do, is concerned about service inflation and is also concerned about full…