Currencies

The Australian economy lost more than 65,000 jobs in December according to today’s data, keeping the pair in precarious position, as it runs its third straight losing week

The pair drops as further moderation in the pace of wage increases takes some of the pressure off the central bank, but Wednesday’s inflation data loom

Australian inflation eased substantially to 4.3% in November, which along with subdued economic activity allows the RBA to stay on the sidelines, but the pair finds support as market await US CPI update

Watch today’s US Open for insights on the solid US jobs report, dovish Fed commentary and the upcoming US CPI inflation report

The pair lacks firm direction as markets digest the recent US jobs data and Fed speak, ahead of Thursday’s CPI inflation report

The pair rises this week in the aftermath of the BoJ’s inaction and yesterday’s Fed minutes, which noted uncertainty around the policy path, as markets await the US jobs report

UK headline CPI printed at 3.9%, much lower than the previous print of 4.6%, and below the forecast of 4.3%. The decline is broad-based, and the Bank of England (BoE) will note the moderation in services inflation. This has fuelled speculation that the BoE will cut rates next year. In this regard, British bond yields declined on the inflation news.

The pair rises this week as the Fed embraced upcoming rate cuts and the ECB pushed back, but today’s weak European PMIs constrain it

Watch today’s US Open for insights on the outcomes of the policy meetings by the Fed, the BoE and the ECB, as the Bank of Japan picks up the baton next week

The Fed, yesterday, held the policy rate steady at 5.25-5.5%, which was largely expected. However, it did surprise with a dovish tone maintaining that growth “has slowed” and “inflation has eased.” The dot plot showed an extra cut for 2024, now numbering 75bps as opposed to 50bps as signalled in the September update. Moreover, the final hike as per September was omitted so the Fed funds rate is now 4.6%…

Watch today’s US Open for insights on the US inflation update and the upcoming pivotal decisions by the US Fed, the Bank of England and the European Central Bank