Main Headlines:
President Biden signed his $1tn infrastructure deal into law before a bipartisan, celebratory crowd on the White House lawn, declaring that the new infusion of cash for roads, bridges, ports and more is going to make life “change for the better”. The President hopes to use the infrastructure law to build back his popularity, which has taken a hit amid rising inflation and the inability to fully shake the public health and economic risks from Covid 19. However, the prospects are tougher for further bipartisanship ahead of the 2022 midterm elections as Biden pivots back to more difficult negotiations over his broader $1.85tn social spending package.
Social care workers should receive an immediate bonus of up to £1,000 to stop them quitting before the winter and putting even more pressure on the NHS, ministers are being urged. The ADASS and NHS Providers, which represents hospitals, say emergency payments would help tackle worsening staff shortages. Their plea comes as new figures show that hospitals across the UK cannot fill almost half of the number of consultant posts they advertise. Growing numbers of care home personnel and domiciliary care workers in England are leaving to work in other sectors, leading to warnings that already fragile services may become unsustainable unless the exodus is halted.
Markets
GBP
The pound is well bid against most majors in the early morning trade. Wholesale energy prices hit the second highest level in at least three years yesterday, adding pressure on suppliers struggling to secure electricity and gas at competitive rates. Low wind speeds were to blame for pushing wholesale energy prices. The UK’s power grid was forced to turn to gas-fired power plants and coal to make up for the lack of wind power generation, a problem that has exacerbated the energy price crisis that started in August. Demand for energy has rocketed as economies reopen following the coronavirus pandemic, with wholesale prices also under pressure due to lower supplies from Russia to western Europe.
EUR
The euro is stronger than the dollar and weaker than the pound this morning. The EU, yesterday, moved to crack down on a border crisis with Belarus amid fears that Russia may use the cloak of chaos to send troops across its own border. EU foreign affairs ministers agreed to expand the bloc’s existing sanctions on Belarus so they can punish any airlines or officials involved in bringing migrants from their home country to the Belarus-EU border — a ploy the EU calls a “hybrid attack” on the bloc. There are currently several thousand migrants stranded at the Belarus border with Poland, camping in freezing temperatures without consistent access to food and water.
USD
The dollar is lower than most majors overnight. Coal prices in the US surged to the highest in more than 12 years, threatening to bloat America’s already soaring electricity bills and signalling the dirty fuel won’t get phased out anytime soon. Prices for coal from Central Appalachia climbed more than $10 last week to $89.75 a ton on the spot market. That’s the highest since 2009, when a spike in exports boosted domestic prices for the power-plant fuel. With energy demand surging, efforts to reach a deal to completely quit coal’s use failed at the COP26 international climate conference that just ended.
Ballinger & Co. Morning Report–16th November 2021
Today’s Rates
GBP>EUR – 1.1849
GBP>USD – 1.3465
EUR>USD – 1.1361
GBP>CAD – 1.6872
GBP>AUD – 1.8350
GBP>SEK – 11.850
GBP>AED – 4.9451
GBP>HKD – 10.483
GBP>ZAR – 20.549
GBP>CHF – 1.2346
Today’s Calendar
· EUR Gross Domestic Product s.a. (YoY)(Q3)
· EUR Gross Domestic Product s.a. (QoQ)(Q3)
· USD Retail Sales (MoM)(Oct)
· USD Retail Sales Control Group(Oct)
· EUR ECB’s President Lagarde speech
Today’s Highlights
· Forex Today: Yields continue to drive dollar valuation, investors eye key UK, EU, US data
· EUR/USD: Rebound remains capped below 1.14 ahead of key EU/US data
· GBP/USD trades in the green above 1.3430 after UK jobs report
· US Dollar Index recedes from 2021 tops ahead of key data
This document has been prepared solely for information and is not intended as an Inducement concerning the purchase or sale of any financial instrument. By its nature market analysis represents the personal view of the author and no warranty can be, or is, offered as to the accuracy of any such analysis, or that predictions provided in any such analysis will prove to be correct. Should you rely on any analysis, information or report provided as part of the Service it does so entirely at its own risk, and Frank eXchange Limited/Manor House Foreign eXchange Limited accepts no responsibility or liability for any loss or damage you may suffer as a result. Information and opinions have been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but no representation is made as to their accuracy. No copy of this document can be taken without prior written permission.
