
Please try another search
Markets are generally steady in tight range on thin trading as US markets will be on July 4 holiday today. Euro stayed in tight range against most major currencies as markets are awaiting tomorrow's ECB meeting as well as an important 10-year bond auction in Spain. Eurozone services PMI was revised higher to 47.1 in June. Sterling is mildly softer ahead of BoE rate decision but is basically just stuck in range. UK PMI services came in weaker than expected at 51.3 in June and added some weigh on the pound. Aussie was lifted mildly earlier today on stronger than expected retail sales figures but no follow through buying was seen. Canadian dollar also failed to extend yesterday's rally as Crude oil retreated ahead of 90 psychological level.
Retail sales in Australia rose more than expected by 0.5% mom in May. RBA left rates unchanged yesterday and adopted a wait-and-see stance. There are still some expectation for RBA to cut rates by as much as 75bps over the next 12 months. But opinion on the timing is diverged as some expect as soon as August. A more important piece of data will be next week's Employment data.
We expect the ECB to cut the main refinancing rate by -25 bps to 0.75% and the deposit rate by -15 bps to 0.1% at the July meeting on Thursday. President Draghi admitted the economic outlook has been deteriorating and accompanying with "serious" downside risks. Yet, further unconventional measures will not be announced at this meeting. While the sovereign debt crisis in the bloc has remained a fundamental problem, it is officially the responsibility of the national governments to find resolutions, instead of the central bank. More in ECB To Cut Policy Rate To 0.75%, No Further Unconventional Measures.
Additional asset purchases of 50B pounds in the July BOE meeting on Thursday have been priced in the GBP. Indeed, Governor Mervyn King has hinted since the last meeting that further easing would be adopted to boost the economy. In June, MPC members voted 5-4 to maintain the asset purchases unchanged. Those voted against additional easing would like to gauge the impact of the emerging "Funding for Lending," i.e. the Long Term Repo Operation (LTRO). It did not mean they were against increasing stimulus ultimately. Rather most of them expected to ease further in due course. More in BOE To Raise Asset Purchase Size To 375B Pound, 25% Of GDP.
Back in late December, I showed gold stock investors some key cycle and oscillator charts for XAU/USD and the miners, suggested that the GDX (NYSE:GDX) ETF and its component...
The central bank’s job is never easier, but in the current climate, it’s unusually tricky. In addition to the usual challenges that complicate real-time monetary policy decisions,...
At age 94, Warren Buffett can still formulate a shareholder letter like no other. His humility, candor, and wisdom is special. I always make it a point to read these because you...
Are you sure you want to block %USER_NAME%?
By doing so, you and %USER_NAME% will not be able to see any of each other's Investing.com's posts.
%USER_NAME% was successfully added to your Block List
Since you’ve just unblocked this person, you must wait 48 hours before renewing the block.
I feel that this comment is:
Thank You!
Your report has been sent to our moderators for review
Add a Comment
We encourage you to use comments to engage with other users, share your perspective and ask questions of authors and each other. However, in order to maintain the high level of discourse we’ve all come to value and expect, please keep the following criteria in mind:
Enrich the conversation, don’t trash it.
Stay focused and on track. Only post material that’s relevant to the topic being discussed.
Be respectful. Even negative opinions can be framed positively and diplomatically. Avoid profanity, slander or personal attacks directed at an author or another user. Racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination will not be tolerated.
Perpetrators of spam or abuse will be deleted from the site and prohibited from future registration at Investing.com’s discretion.