Market Roundup
- US Mortgage Market Index w/e 399.3, (previous 415.40)
- US MBA Purchase Index w/e 170.4, (previous 173.00)
- US Mortgage Refinance Index w/e 1720.3, (previous 1815.30)
- US MBA 30-Yr Mortgage Rate w/e 3.99%, (previous 4.01%)
- US Fed Funds Target Rate N/A 0.25%, (previous 0.25%)
- Canada Wholesale Trade MM Jan -3.1%, (consensus -0.8%, (previous 2.80%)
- Fed keeps rates Steady, removes patient from statement, will raise rates after further improvement in labor mkt & when it is 'reasonably confident' inflation will move back to 2% target
- Fed risks to economy and labor mkt nearly balanced, inflation remains weak largely due to declines in energy prices- market based expectations remain low
- Fed SEP lower GDP and PCE f/c
- Sweden' Riksbank cuts repo rate 25bps and will buy SEK 30b of government bonds
- Sweden's Ingves given uncertainty in outside world ready to do more
- Germany's Schaeuble urges Greece to focus on competitiveness
- Germany's Schaeuble says monetary policy cannot replace fiscal policy
- Germany's Gabriel says Merkel/Tsipras meeting should overcome impression of conflict
- France's Sapin urges all to mind their words to avoid accidental "Grexit"
- Greek PM Tsipras lashes out at reported EU criticism of bill to help poor
- Ex-IMF Shinohara Weak yen won't cause "currency war" with US
- UK's Osborne sharp falling oil price is positive news, but does not offset rising geopoloitical uncertainty, OBR has revised up UK growth forecasts, confirms 2% inflation target for BOE
- UK's Osborne expects spare capacity in UK economy to be used up by 2017
- UK DMO's Stheeman EZ QE likely to boost demand for gilts including longer maturities
- Mexico's FinMin says fall in oil not temporary, sees big challenge for public finances in '16
- Brazil's CB has little room to continue w/CCY swap pgm for very long
- Brazil's Tombini govt implementing policies to improve debt profile, fiscal steps will help inflation converge to target, in coming weeks will decide next steps for CCY swap program
- (1745 ET/ 2145 GMT) NewZealand GDP Production Q/Q Q4 (consensus 0.7%, previous 1%)
- (1745 ET/ 2145 GMT) NewZealand GDP - Annl-Avg, Prod-Bas Q4 (consensus 3.2%, previous 2.9%)
- (1745 ET/ 2145 GMT) NewZealand GDP - Annual Q4 (consensus 3.3%, previous 3.2%)
- (1745 ET/ 2145 GMT) NewZealand GDP Expenditure QQ Q4 (consensus 0.8%, previous 1.3%)
- (1930 ET/ 2330 GMT) Japan Reuters Tankan DI Mar (previous 11)
- (1950 ET/ 2350 GMT) Japan Foreign Bond Investment w/e (previous 270.4b)
- (1950 ET/ 2350 GMT) Japan Foreign Invest JP Stock w/e (previous 290.1b)
- No Significant Events
FX Recap
USD/JPY: USD/JPY dropped from 120.95 to 120.55, reaching the lowest level since March 6 after the release of the FOMC decision. Greenback dropped across the board immediately after the statement. Currency the pair is slipping further, is trading around 102. 40 after Yellens press conference.
USD/CAD: USD/CAD in multi-day troughs after FOMC. The pair is now trading back to levels last seen a week ago following the dovish bias from today's FOMC statement. The pair is now trading at 1.2571, falling further as we write. In her press conference, Yellen said rate hikes will hinge on incoming data and that the slack in the labour market is shrinking helped by economic growth. Regarding the level of USD, she argued that a strong dollar could imply lower consumer prices for longer.
EUR/USD: EUR/USD buoyant on Yellen's presser. The pair manages to stay above the 1.0700 mark so far. The single currency briefly tested the 1.0800 handle vs. the US dollar but returned to the mid-1.07s afterwards. Currently the pair is trading at 1.0789, up 1.81% on the day. Resistances located at 1.0800 and 1.0900, supports seen at 1.0551, 1.0457 and 1.0400.
AUD/USD: AUD/USD is moving back into neutral territory on the back of the dovishness that came from the FOMC statement. AUD/USD remains bid and is looking for closes on the 0.77 handle. AUD/USD is currently trading at 0.7730, market still very short a squeeze to the 0.7900/30 resistance zone cannot be ruled out.
USD/CHF: The US dollar dropped sharply across the board after the FOMC statement. USD/CHF was trading considerably lower before Fed's decision after breaking a 4-day trading range. The pair accelerated declines after the FOMC statement was released and plunged to 0.9805 from 0.9925 before, reaching the lowest level since March 6. Currently the pair is trading at 0.9809, down more than 2% for the day.
