Market Reports

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Wednesday 23rd July 2008

Posted: 2008-07-23 10:49:24

The Dollar rallied sharply yesterday on hawkish comments from Paulson and Plosser… With little in the way of economic data yesterday comments from Treasury Secretary Paulson and Philly Fed President Plosser... Read more

Monday 21st July 2008

Posted: 2008-07-21 10:38:57

Sterling starts the week on the back foot… The pound was in decline on Friday following a report in the FT that the UK Treasury is considering a change its fiscal... Read more

Friday 18th July 2008

Posted: 2008-07-18 12:35:56

To grow or not to grow? Oil came off further yesterday at one point below $130 a barrel. Rather than being a reduction in demand for oil it seems more... Read more

Wednesday 16th July 2008

Posted: 2008-07-16 10:49:00

The value of oil came off yesterday, at one point down by $10 a barrel after concerns were again expressed about the state of the US economy and that this... Read more

Tuesday 15th July 2008

Posted: 2008-07-15 10:20:30

Another day another Dollar…(though the Dollar is worth a little less today than yesterday). Mr Bernanke will be talking today at his semi-annual monetary policy testimony before the Senate Banking Committee.... Read more

Monday 14th July 2008

Posted: 2008-07-14 10:36:46

It looks like another wave of doom and gloom over in the States as the news that one of the largest mortgage lenders IndyMac Bank has failed. Greater concern as... Read more

Friday 11th July 2008

Posted: 2008-07-11 10:43:35

This has been a very quiet week on exchange rates with the lack of stimulus causing little movement. There have been a few flurries in EUR/USD caused by oil prices... Read more

Thursday 10th July 2008

Posted: 2008-07-10 10:40:49

Little move again on exchange rates overnight, with EUR/USD continuing to be supported on the down side. It looks likely that the Euro will find buyers at 1.5680 which is... Read more

Wednesday 9th July 2008

Posted: 2008-07-09 11:02:13

Once again, very little move in exchange rates overnight the only real point of note is the slightly firmer US Dollar on the back of lower oil prices which fell... Read more

Tuesday 8th July 2008

Posted: 2008-07-08 11:30:58

We have seen very little move in rates overnight with the Far East happy to leave things approximately as they found them on opening. All the action yesterday centred around the... Read more

Monday 7th July 2008

Posted: 2008-07-07 10:45:43

Following on from last weeks meeting of the ECB when Euro rates were raised by 25bp, the MPC are due to meet on Thursday. Expectations are for a hold in... Read more

Thursday 3rd July 2008

Posted: 2008-07-03 09:25:34

With a raft of data and announcements due out today and the shortened week for the US, today could prove rather volatile. It has now been officially confirmed that the Dow... Read more

Wednesday 2nd July 2008

Posted: 2008-07-02 11:48:46

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back ….. The various Markets started down the road that is the second half of the year with some optimism but got hit by another almighty... Read more

Monday 30th June 2008

Posted: 2008-06-30 15:25:50

All Eyes on Europe. This week the main focus of attention will be data released from Europe. The ECB has a rate decision on Thursday that may challenge the potential market... Read more

Friday 27th June 2008

Posted: 2008-06-27 11:31:11

King Warns Against Silly Over-Reaction During his testimony to the Treasury Select Committee on Thursday, the Bank of England’s Governor Mervyn King guranteed that the MPC will not “overreact” to rising... Read more

Tuesday 24th June 2008

Posted: 2008-06-24 12:18:46

MPC Hawk Argues Slower Growth Will Dampen Inflation Sterling fell against both the dollar and the euro on Monday subsequent to an interview which appeared in the morning press with Andrew... Read more

Monday 23rd June 2008

Posted: 2008-06-23 10:43:52

OPEC to Boost Oil Output but Little Impact on Prices Expected A summit held in Jeddah over the weekend which included representatives from all the major oil producing and consuming nations... Read more

Friday 20th June,2008

Posted: 2008-06-20 13:19:08

Unforeseen Rise in UK Retail Sales Leads to Sterling Rebound A report released by the Office for National Statistics on Thursday showed a somewhat unexpected 3.5% rise in retail sales volumes... Read more

Wednesday 18th June 2008

Posted: 2008-06-18 10:33:39

King Forced to Put Pen to Paper as Inflation Accelerates Higher The release of data by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Tuesday morning showed that inflation in the UK... Read more

Tuesday 17th June 2008

Posted: 2008-06-17 13:24:29

Oil Reaches Another Record High Day Before CPI Released Inflation in the Eurozone during May was 3.7% according to figures released by the EU’s official statistical office yesterday, up from 3.3%... Read more

Monday June 16th, 2008

Posted: 2008-06-16 10:50:27

Inflation Remains Top of Central Banks Agenda. On Friday morning it was announced that inflation in Germany has accelerated more than initially reported back in May, caused mainly by... Read more

Friday 13th June 2008

Posted: 2008-06-13 13:14:42

FTSE’s Four Day Losing Streak Broken. Strong US retail figures released yesterday provided some welcome news for the markets; suggesting that the US might possibly avoid slipping into recession. The reported... Read more

Thursday 12th June 2008

Posted: 2008-06-12 13:21:51

This morning Euro has weakened against the dollar on the back of ECB comments yesterday that multiple interest rate hikes are unlikely. In addition, InBev of Belgium’s pending acquisition of... Read more

Monday 9th June 2008

Posted: 2008-06-09 10:29:32

Oil price conitnues to strengthen Global equity markets succumbed to a new sell-off at the end of last week amid jitters among investors over key economic releases and further oil price... Read more

Thursday 5th June 2008

Posted: 2008-06-05 10:43:03

Interest Rate Announcements are in the Spotlight Yesterday, the GBP continued to decline against the Euro and USD as the UK purchasing mangers’ index for the services firms unexpectedly fell.... Read more

Wednesday June 4th 2008

Posted: 2008-06-04 10:19:30

The USD strengthened yesterday afternoon on comments made by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke. Breaking with tradition and commenting on currency matters, typically the domain of the Treasury Secretary, Bernanke... Read more

Tuesday 3rd June 2008

Posted: 2008-06-03 10:55:25

UK Data Disappoints at Start of Busy Week Sterling saw its biggest one day fall in a month against the greenback yesterday following a poor start to the week for... Read more

Friday 30th May 2008

Posted: 2008-05-30 14:25:14

UK Consumer Confidence at Lowest Level since the end of Thatcher U.K. consumer confidence dropped to the lowest level since Margaret Thatcher was ousted from office in 1990,... Read more

Thursday May 29th, 2008

Posted: 2008-05-29 10:57:09

Inflation and oil the talk of the town Inflation and oil continue to be the main focus of the markets. Yesterday saw the USD gain across the board on the... Read more

Wednesday 28th May 2008

Posted: 2008-05-28 11:20:31

ECB rate cut = “wishful thinking”? Prominent fears of stagflation (inflation and stagnation) appeared to contribute to the Sterling weakness against the US Dollar yesterday. Not helping the GBP was the... Read more

Tuesday 27th May 2008

Posted: 2008-05-27 10:20:43

Good morning. Soros – We face the most serious recession of our lifetime George Soros, the phenomenally successful billionaire hedge fund manager, has said that “we face the most serious recession... Read more

Friday 23rd May 2008

Posted: 2008-05-23 11:05:56

Decline in UK Retail activity not as bad as forecast Yesterday’s retail sales from the UK showed a fall again from last month’s figures as faster inflation, lack of credit... Read more

Thursday 22nd May 2008

Posted: 2008-05-22 11:47:10

Good morning. Minutes and Oil highlight Fed dilemma Congratulations to Man Utd and commiserations to Chelsea after a superb European Cup Final in Moscow last night. Another ‘close call’ at the... Read more

Wednesday 21st May 2008

Posted: 2008-05-21 10:05:23

USD falls quicker than Didier Drogba The dollar fell to $1.5678 yesterday, the most in a month against the Euro as the price of oil rose above $129 for the... Read more

Tuesday 20th May 2008

Posted: 2008-05-20 10:14:30

A quiet start to a busy week Yesterday was a relatively quiet start to the week, especially when you consider the importance of the Bank of England minutes and FOMC... Read more

Monday 19th May 2008

Posted: 2008-05-19 13:22:21

Growth versus Inflation With both the US and UK economies under inflationary pressure, Central Bankers are faced with the task of stimulating growth without yielding to high inflation. Last weeks UK... Read more

Friday 16th May 2008

Posted: 2008-05-16 10:16:24

Fairly quite day in terms of data today, only things due out today will be the US University of Michigan Confidence report out at 3:00 BST. A further decline is... Read more

Thursday May 15th 2008

Posted: 2008-05-15 09:57:26

Good morning. Sterling remains under pressure This British pound hit a 2.5 month intra-day low against the US dollar yesterday following the release of the UK employment rate and the Bank... Read more

Wednesday 14th May 2008

Posted: 2008-05-14 15:50:45

Today at 10.30 a.m. we have the release of the Quarterly Inflation Report accompanied by the post release Question & Answer session. In a normal market the combined effects of downward... Read more

Monday 12th May 2008

Posted: 2008-05-12 10:18:08

Focus on UK Inflation Report Last week we saw Sterling and Euro fall against the broadly stronger US Dollar and following the MPC and ECB meetings on Thursday, Sterling finished... Read more

Friday 9th May 2008

Posted: 2008-05-09 10:25:53

Good Morning. Central Banks Keep Rates on Hold …. Oil surges to new record high Yesterday we saw the MPC decide to keep rates at 5% for a further month. Until we... Read more

Thursday 8th May 2008

Posted: 2008-05-08 10:08:03

Good morning. All eyes on the BOE and the ECB today…. The pound took a further bashing yesterday now reaching an 11 week low against the dollar. Sterling came under severe pressure... Read more

Wednesday 7th May 2008

Posted: 2008-05-07 10:29:44

Good morning. More Pressure on the Pound Sterling extended losses on Tuesday, in a further indication of the tussle between a slowing UK economy and rising inflation. The Chartered Institute for Purchasing... Read more

Tuesday 6th May 2008

Posted: 2008-05-06 11:29:21

What will the Central Banks do this week? This week we will have rate decisions from the Bank of England and the European Central Bank, both are deemed in the market... Read more

Friday 2nd May 2008

Posted: 2008-05-02 11:56:09

Good morning. Bank of England Provides Optimism There was positive news for the UK economy yesterday in the form of the Bank of England’s Financial Stability Report. The central bank believes... Read more

Thursday May 1st 2008

Posted: 2008-05-01 09:42:47

Fed May Take a Break The FOMC delivered the widely expected rate cut yesterday, reducing the Fed Funds rate by 25 basis points to 2%. The language used in the... Read more

Tuesday 29th April 2008

Posted: 2008-04-29 10:04:17

Euro Inflation Take to the Stage Euro zone inflation took centre stage yesterday as Jean-Claude Trichet spoke at a conference in Vienna. The European Central Bank President made it clear... Read more

Monday 28th April 2008

Posted: 2008-04-28 09:47:06

Growth v Inflation Continues There was further evidence on Friday of the difficulty that the Bank of England face over near term base rate decisions. UK Gross domestic product rose... Read more

Friday 25th April 2008

Posted: 2008-04-25 09:46:46

US New-home sales plummet Whilst US home builders have slashed average house prices by record amounts we still saw new home sales plunge by 8.5% in the month of March... Read more

Thursday 24th April 2008

Posted: 2008-04-24 11:55:38

MPC minutes show three way split Minutes from the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee (MPC) were released yesterday, showing a three way decision split over the recent 25 basis... Read more

Tuesday 22nd April 2008

Posted: 2008-04-22 10:31:47

The Pound feels the heat As expected the Bank of England announced details of the £50bio plan to help stem the credit crisis. The Governor, Mervyn King said that the... Read more

Monday 21st April 2008

Posted: 2008-04-21 10:13:25

Focus on the Bank of England this week The lack of Interbank lending is weighing heavily on the price of real money in the market place, as we continue to... Read more

Friday 18th April 2008

Posted: 2008-04-18 10:22:10

The euro retreated slightly yesterday after euro group chairman Jean-Claude Juncker (also Luxembourg’s prime minister) warned that financial markets have misunderstood the G7’s position on currency volatility. The G7’s exact... Read more

Thursday 17th April 2008

Posted: 2008-04-17 09:44:42

Euro Inflation Continues To Rise The Euro continued its surge yesterday hitting record highs against the dollar and pound after Euro zone inflation rose to its highest level in 16... Read more

Wednesday 16th April 2008

Posted: 2008-04-16 10:26:29

Bank of England Still Have Tough Balancing Act Although CPI Holds Steady The office for National Statistics yesterday reported that CPI, the headline inflation figure, remained unchanged at 2.5% against... Read more

Tuesday 15th April 2008

Posted: 2008-04-15 09:32:18

Sterling remains in focus posting new highs against the euro first thing this morning. Against the dollar we have seen a retreat from gains yesterday to hover back at a... Read more

Monday 14th April, 2008

Posted: 2008-04-14 09:45:02

Markets Disregard Suggestion of G7 Intervention Welcome to the week… G7 financial heads warned against global currency volatility at the weekend meeting in Washington, raising thoughts of some form of joint... Read more

Thursday 9th April,2008

Posted: 2008-04-10 10:08:12

BoE rate cut - a done deal? The Bank of England is in the spot light today holding their 4th monetary meeting since beginning of this year. Although the market does... Read more

Wednesday 9th April

Posted: 2008-04-09 09:27:31

New GBP/EUR lows The GBP was hit hard yesterday after data revealed house prices fell sharply in March. Prices slumped 2.5% which is the biggest decline since the 1992 house... Read more

Tuesday 8th April 2008

Posted: 2008-04-08 09:35:51

Sterling weaker following poor housing data… Sterling fell this morning, extending losses over the past week following poor UK housing figures, fuelling expectations the Bank of England will cut interest... Read more

Monday April 7th

Posted: 2008-04-07 10:07:59

When is a recession a recession?--> On Friday U.S employers cut payrolls for the third time in a row resulting in a decline of 80,000 jobs. Industries which showed the highest... Read more

Friday 4th April,2008

Posted: 2008-04-04 09:31:11

Market awaits Non Farm Payrolls The wait is almost over. At 13:30 this afternoon the eyes of the industrialised world will focus on this month's Non-Farm Payrolls number. The hope is... Read more

Thursday 3rd April 2008

Posted: 2008-04-03 10:48:09

Bernanke speaks With a market desperate for good news, Ben Bernanke’s testimony yesterday afternoon was closely watched for any glints of optimism in the US economy. Words matter and one word... Read more

Wednesday 2nd April 2008

Posted: 2008-04-02 12:39:02

Rally for GBP and USD Yesterday saw the USD and GBP rally back against the Euro. Figures showed a surprise drop in German retail sales, falling by 1.6% in February, market expectation... Read more

Tuesday 1st April 2008

Posted: 2008-04-01 10:24:36

New Sterling Lows The Euro rose to a record high against Sterling after yesterday’s Eurozone inflation data came in stronger that expected. The headline figure of 3.5% in February was up... Read more

Monday 31st March 2008

Posted: 2008-03-31 10:03:35

Will Bernanke Provide the Answers? The Euro continued its rally at the end of last week, hitting all time highs against GBP and the USD. Data released last week, particularly... Read more

Friday March 28th 2008

Posted: 2008-03-28 12:00:00

Its not all doom and gloom � opportunity with UK interest rates? Central banks are continuing to support the markets. Led by the UK and Switzerland both injected extra funds... Read more