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Stock markets are taking a bit of a beating on Wednesday as investors start to fret again about the pace of monetary tightening. Fed mulling point hikes Cracks are starting to appear as it becomes clear that the central bank has little choice but to tackle inflation head-on, no matter the cost, after arriving late to the party with its first hike last month. It took a long time for the central bank to acknowledge the problem and much longer again before it eventually started raising rates and

06-04-2022 12:43 GMT by Craig Erlam

Canada dollar as Ivey PMI jumps

The Canadian dollar is steady today, trading at the 1.25 line. Canada's Ivey PMI for March was up sharply, rising from 60.6 to 74.2. This crushed the consensus estimate of 60.0, the highest level in more than 11 years.

06-04-2022 12:35 GMT by Kenneth Fisher

Euro stops nasty slide

The euro is flat on Wednesday, putting the brakes on a nasty four-day slide. EUR/USD dipped below the 1.09 line in the Asian session before recovering. ECB's Panetta warns about stagflation Inflation has been skyrocketing in the US and UK, giving the Fed and BoE plenty of sleepless nights.

06-04-2022 10:40 GMT by Kenneth Fisher

Aussie takes a breath after wild ride

The Australian dollar is drifting on Wednesday, after taking quite the ride a day earlier, courtesy of the RBA rate decision. RBA hawkishness sends Aussie soaring AUD/USD rocketed some 200 points at one stage on Tuesday, in response to the RBA rate statement at its policy meeting. The Bank held rates at an ultra-low 0.10%, where they have been pegged since November 2020.

06-04-2022 06:58 GMT by Kenneth Fisher

Oil edges higher, gold range trades

Oil prices are steady Oil prices eased overnight in the face of a stronger US dollar, a slow news ticker from Eastern Europe, and continuing concerns over China’s growth as the Shanghai lockdown continued. Brent crude fell by 2.15% to USD 104.60 a barrel, with WTI falling 2.45% to USD 101.15 a barrel.

06-04-2022 04:26 GMT by Jeffrey Halley

Higher US yields lift the dollar

Brainard's hawkish comments buoy the US dollar The US dollar rose overnight as US long-dated yields spiked higher after very hawkish comments from the Fed’s Brainard, previously one of its most dovish officials. A robust ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI and ISM Non-Manufacturing employment, new orders and business activity served as an additional tailwind.

06-04-2022 04:14 GMT by Jeffrey Halley

Asian equities slump

Brainard's tightening comments dampen Asian markets Hawkish comments around the Fed’s balance sheet runoff and 0.50% rate hikes threw a bucket of cold reality onto equity markets overnight. Fed Governor Lael Brainard, one of the most dovish FOMC members, said that a reduction of the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet, so-called quantitative tightening, could begin as early as next month and at a much faster pace than previous efforts.

06-04-2022 03:59 GMT by Jeffrey Halley

Left Brainard, right Brainard

Brainard talks hawkish The overnight session was dominated by comments from Fed Governor Lael Brainard, who set the cat amongst the pigeons of the equity and bond markets with some very hawkish comments. Ms Brainard suggested that a reduction of the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet, so-called quantitative tightening, could begin as early as next month and at a much faster pace than previous efforts.

06-04-2022 03:43 GMT by Jeffrey Halley

Oil edges lower, gold consolidates

Oil pares gains but remains in consolidation Oil prices are slipping a little on Tuesday after rebounding at the start of the week. The threat of European sanctions on Russian oil remains an upside risk for crude prices despite the firm opposition in the short term from certain member states.

05-04-2022 13:17 GMT by Craig Erlam

Choppy markets continue

It's been another choppy day in financial markets with Europe ending a mixed bag and US indices all in the red but to varying degrees. The markets are very indicative of the uncertainty that we continue to see from Ukraine/Russia negotiations to sanctions, interest rates, recession warnings, lockdowns etc. There's no end to the uncertainty, which makes the resilience we're seeing in stock markets all the more impressive. Europe and the US continue to tighten sanctions against Russia, albeit wi

05-04-2022 13:13 GMT by Craig Erlam

Market Insights Podcast (Episode 316)

OANDA Senior Market Analyst Craig Erlam reviews the latest market news with Jonny Hart. And in a special episode of the Market Insights podcast, we speak to OANDA General Counsel Lisa Shemie who joins us from New York to talk about some of the legal aspects of the FX sector. Lisa talked about her career trajectory leading up to her joining OANDA late last year, and discussed some issues relating to the FX markets and emerging regulatory issues. She touched on the FX Global Code, some differenc

05-04-2022 13:04 GMT by Craig Erlam

NZ dollar hits 15-week high

The New Zealand dollar continues to rally and is up 0.82% this week. Earlier in the day, NZD/USD punched above the symbolic 70 line and rose to 0.7034, its highest level since November 2021, before retreating lower. US Services PMI accelerates The US Services PMI for March pointed to continuing expansion, with a reading of 58.3.

05-04-2022 12:15 GMT by Kenneth Fisher

Japanese yen dips, wage growth falls

USD/JPY was sailing in calm waters on Tuesday but has gained ground in the North American session. The yen is trading at 123.25, up 0.40% on the day. Kuroda talks tough about the yen Similar to what we saw last week, Japanese officials were talking about the yen, expressing concern about currency movements.

05-04-2022 10:34 GMT by Kenneth Fisher

Aussie rockets as RBA hints at hike

The Australian dollar is turning heads, as AUD/USD has jumped a massive 1.27% today. In the European session, the Australian dollar hit 0.7639, its highest level since June 2021. RBA says audieu to 'patience' If I had to pick a word that encompassed RBA Governor Lowe's monetary stance, it would be 'patience'.

05-04-2022 09:23 GMT by Kenneth Fisher

Oil rises on sanctions talk, gold steady

Oil prices higher on European sanctions fears Oil prices started rallying in Asia yesterday after Europe indicated tighter sanctions on Russia. Fears mounting that Europe would finally target the Russian energy sector, further squeezing supplies.

05-04-2022 04:15 GMT by Jeffrey Halley

Asia shuffles sideways

Holidays in mainland China and Hong Kong are muting activity once again in Asia, which looks content to watch this session from the sidelines. Overnight, Elon Musk stole the headlines, announcing with a swipe of his debit card, the purchase of a 9.20% stake in Twitter worth USD 2.90 billion.

05-04-2022 03:35 GMT by Jeffrey Halley

AUD/USD - Building breakout momentum?

Can it take the next step? The Aussie dollar has performed well against the greenback since early February and while it appeared to have lost some momentum recently, it may have rediscovered that today. The pair ran into resistance around the late-October highs last week and has been in consolidation since but as you can see today, it's spiked higher and the MACD and stochastic on the 4-hour chart suggest there's some momentum behind the move. The fact that we never saw much of a pullback f

04-04-2022 12:41 GMT by Craig Erlam

Yen takes a pause after busy week

The Japanese yen has started the week with slight gains, as USD/JPY is trading at 122.75 in the North American session. It was a rollercoaster week for the yen, which showed strong volatility throughout the week. USD/JPY posted considerable gains on Friday, as the US/Japan rate differential widened on Friday and pushed the yen briefly above the 123 line.

04-04-2022 10:09 GMT by Kenneth Fisher

Oil stabilises, gold looks for direction

Oil steadies as IEA prepares details of reserve release Oil prices have pulled back considerably since peaking last month in the early days of the invasion. Declines over the last couple of weeks have been aided by lockdowns in China and a massive SPR release by the IEA, the details of which should become known early this week. The US has already made its contribution known which will go some way to easing the tightness in the market and supply shock from Russia, where sanctions are biting.

04-04-2022 09:26 GMT by Craig Erlam

Caution ahead of more talks

European stocks are treading water on Monday and Wall Street is eyeing a similar open amid another cautious start to the week. Virtual talks are set to resume as Europe prepares fresh sanctions against Russia following the release of disturbing images over the weekend. Pressure is ramping up on Brussels to enforce a total ban on Russian energy imports in order to enforce real damage and punishment against the Kremlin for the invasion.

04-04-2022 09:14 GMT by Craig Erlam

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