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US Close: Retail Sales weighed by energy price surge, Musk’s calculated Twitter offer, Commodities hit hard by strong dollar, Bitcoin below $40k

Wall Street is ready for a long weekend and stocks are struggling here after mixed bank earnings and a retail sales report that showed the consumer is spending more money on essentials. The second act of bank earnings rewarded Goldman and Morgan Stanley for strong trading revenues, while Citigroup was hampered by their exposure to Russia and Wells Fargo posted disappointing revenue and net interest income.

14-04-2022 14:27 GMT by Edward Moya

Australian dollar falls on US retail sales

The Australian dollar is in negative territory today, as it trades slightly above the 0.74 line in the North American session. Australia's employment report was respectable, and the Australian dollar's reaction was muted. The economy created 17.9 thousand new jobs in March, down from 77.4 prior and shy of the estimate of 40.0 thousand. The unemployment rate remained at a sizzling 4.0%, the lowest since 2008. Today's numbers are unlikely to shed much light on the timeline for the RBA's expecte

14-04-2022 11:55 GMT by Kenneth Fisher

ECBs unhelpful ambiguity

European stocks are edging higher ahead of the long bank holiday weekend, ending the week not far from where they started as investors mull the latest policy decisions, inflation data and earnings. There's been a number of interest rate hikes this week, some more expected than others, while the ECB has instead opted for the usual cocktail of unhelpful ambiguity. Anyone hoping for a hawkish hint ahead of its next meeting and forecasts will no doubt be very disappointed, albeit not surprised.

14-04-2022 10:25 GMT by Craig Erlam

Oil drifting, gold pares gains

Oil remains rangebound after recovery this week Oil prices are a little lower on Thursday after rallying strongly the previous two days. The flirtation below USD 100 didn't last long as the slight lifting of restrictions in China partly removed one key downside risk for prices.

14-04-2022 10:23 GMT by Craig Erlam

BoC hike boosts Canadian dollar

Canadian dollar climbs to 1-week high The Canadian dollar is drifting on Thursday, after posting strong gains a day earlier following the BoC rate decision. The Bank of Canada raised interest rates by 0.50% on Wednesday, the first G-7 central bank to do so. It marked the BoC's largest rate hike since 2000.

14-04-2022 08:48 GMT by Kenneth Fisher

Euro edges up ahead of ECB meeting

The euro has posted slight gains ahead of today's ECB policy meeting and is trading at 1.0916 in the European session. ECB expected to maintain rates We are seeing central banks respond to spiralling inflation with tighter policy. On Tuesday, both the Reserve Bank of New Zealand and the Bank of Canada implemented super-size increases of 0.50%, although the Canadian and New Zealand dollars moved in different directions after the moves.

14-04-2022 05:46 GMT by Kenneth Fisher

Oil and gold rally

Oil prices rally again overnight Oil prices ignored the peak inflation noise from equity and currency markets, posting another day of sharp increases as concerns around tight supplies globally persist and China Covid restrictions were eased in Shanghai. The difference in perceptions between the various asset classes could not be starker now.

14-04-2022 04:39 GMT by Jeffrey Halley

US dollar in peak inflation hopes

US dollar retreats Rallies by the euro and sterling pushed the US dollar lower overnight as markets in New York continued to price in peak inflation expectations and assume that all the Fed tightening was now priced into US markets. The dollar index fell sharply by 0.46% to 99.85 after touching my initial target of 100.50 earlier in the day.

14-04-2022 04:27 GMT by Jeffrey Halley

New York rally lifts Asian equities

Markets higher after US inflation report Wall Street ignored weak JP Morgan Q1 results and instead continued to focus on the peak US inflation theme overnight, sending US equities sharply higher. The S&P 500 rose 1.12%, the Nasdaq leapt 2.03% higher, and the Dow Jones climbed by 1.05%.

14-04-2022 04:11 GMT by Jeffrey Halley

Hawks fill the skies

The procession of central banks hiking rates in an attempt to see off inflation has continued over the last 24 hours. The Bank of Canada hiked by 0.50% overnight, and the Bank of Korea sprung a surprise 0.25% hike this morning.

14-04-2022 03:59 GMT by Jeffrey Halley

Oil rally returns, Gold eyes USD 2k

Oil Crude prices were unfazed after the EIA crude oil inventory report posted the biggest build since March 2021. Overall, the EIA report was mixed as the massive build was offset by improving gasoline and jet fuel demand, while US production remained steady.

13-04-2022 12:49 GMT by Edward Moya

Stocks rebound as yields decline, JPMorgan struggles with inflation and suffers Ukraine loss, Delta’s tremendous demand, BOC leading aggressive tightening race, bitcoin holds $40,000

Earnings season is here and so far the takeaway is that the short-term outlook for the economy is pretty good and that the consumer is handling widespread price increases. US stocks are rebounding as the bond market selloff appears to be over for now.

13-04-2022 12:47 GMT by Edward Moya

Oil rises, gold extends rally

Oil pushing higher as OEPC continues to disappoint Oil prices are continuing to push higher after spiking on Tuesday. The slight easing of restrictions in China and pushback from OPEC to EU requests for higher output triggered a sharp rally yesterday just as the price was flirting with double digits.

13-04-2022 12:38 GMT by Craig Erlam

Tightening continues amid higher inflation

Another mixed session on Wednesday, with Europe edging lower once more and US posting small gains early in the day. There is so much focus on the inflation outlook right now and what policymakers are doing to get to grips with it. Two central banks have raised interest rates by 50 basis points today and the Fed is expected to follow that with a similar move in a couple of weeks' time. The moves from the RBNZ and BoC were not surprising, although the consensus for the former was 25 basis points p

13-04-2022 12:35 GMT by Craig Erlam

Bank of Canada raises rates by 0.50%

Canadian dollar yawns after rate hike The Bank of Canada was expected to come out flying, and it certainly didn't disappoint as it increased interest rates by 50-basis points. This was the second hike in two months after the central bank had kept rates at an ultra-low 0.25% for close to two years.

13-04-2022 10:40 GMT by Kenneth Fisher

Market Insights Podcast (Episode 319)

OANDA Senior Market Analyst Craig Erlam reviews the latest market news with Jonny Hart. They discuss the latest inflation data from the UK and US, the RBNZ rate hike, upcoming BoC rate decision and the moves in oil.

13-04-2022 06:01 GMT by Craig Erlam

RBNZ super-hikes but NZD slides

RBNZ hikes rates by 0.50% The RBNZ came out swinging on Wednesday, as it hiked the Cash Rate to 1.50%, with an oversized hike of 50-basis points. Ordinarily, a sharp rate hike by a central bank would prop up the local currency, but that was not the case today.

13-04-2022 05:10 GMT by Kenneth Fisher

Inflation relief for GBP/USD

OANDA Senior Market Analyst Craig Erlam talks about how the latest US inflation report offered relief for GBPUSD around key technical support.

13-04-2022 04:50 GMT by Craig Erlam

Oil rallies, gold edges higher

Oil prices rally overnight Oil prices rallied sharply overnight as OPEC rebuffed increasing production above already agreed amounts, and Russian oil production fell below 10 mio barrels per day. Putin’s Ukraine negotiation dead-end comments also dampened hopes that a negotiated settlement could relieve tight energy markets. Brent crude rallied 5.55% higher to USD 104.85, and WTI leapt 6.10% higher to USD 101.00 a barrel.

13-04-2022 04:48 GMT by Jeffrey Halley

US dollar rally accelerates overnight

US dollar extends gains In contrast with the exuberance of equity markets, the US dollar rally accelerated overnight, with dollar index gains led by weakness in the euro and sterling. The dollar index ignored the softer monthly core-inflation print, rallying an impressive 0.34% to 100.33, where it remains in Asia.

13-04-2022 04:36 GMT by Jeffrey Halley

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