Daily Market Update 27/01/2022


Main Headlines

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday said it is likely to hike interest rates in March and reaffirmed plans to end its bond purchases that month in what US central bank chief Jerome Powell pledged will be a sustained battle to tame inflation. The chair of the Federal Reserve, refused to rule out more aggressive interest rate rises than markets had been expecting. At his post-meeting news conference, Powell said that there is “a bit of room to raise interest rates” without necessarily threatening the labour market. Shortly after his pronouncement, the major stock market averages turned negative. The committee’s statement came in response to inflation running at its hottest level in nearly 40 years. Though the move toward less accommodative policy has been well telegraphed over the past several weeks, markets in recent days have been remarkably choppy as investors worried that the Fed might tighten policy even more than expected. In addition, the committee noted the central bank’s monthly bond-buying will proceed at just $30 billion in February, indicating that program is expected to end in March as well while rates increase.

Rishi Sunak’s latest Budget has contributed to a rise in inflation and there is a risk that current government policy could generate a wage price spiral, according to an influential all-party group of MPs. In its report on the October Budget, the Treasury committee also warned that the tax burden would be higher at the next election than at the last, even if the chancellor offered some sweeteners before people go to the polls. The committee noted that Sunak’s plan for a rise in national insurance contributions from April to clear an NHS treatment backlog and fund social care reforms would raise costs for employers because half of the tax increase is paid by companies, putting pressure on them to increase prices. Several Conservative ministers have called on Sunak to delay or cut the increase. The committee also found that “the large fiscal loosening” in the Budget, with more generous than expected increases in public spending, would also push up prices. Any such move would draw Mr Sunak into conflict with Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is keen to move on from the austerity era.

Markets

GBP

Sterling is weaker than most major currencies in the early morning trade. The Plan B restrictions introduced over the Christmas period due to the rise of the Omicron variant end today. Mask wearing and working from home advice are among those restrictions being removed. Work-from-home guidance ended last week, and measures such as mask mandates and COVID passes, also introduced in England last month, lapsed this morning, returning the rules to where they were last July. British airline easyJet said the Omicron variant of COVID-19 was impacting its performance this quarter, but it expected to see strong demand this summer when its capacity will be near pre-pandemic levels. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson accused the European Union on Wednesday of implementing part of the Brexit agreement covering trade with Northern Ireland in an “insane and pettifogging way”, comments Ireland dismissed as unhelpful. Recipients of benefits under the UK’s flagship welfare scheme will be required to broaden their search for work within weeks of receiving government allowances or face sanctions.

EUR

Euro is stronger against sterling and weaker against the dollar this morning. Replenished firepower and higher interest rates will give Europe’s banks an ideal opportunity this year to reverse recent underperformance and claw back market share from rivals in the United States. European lenders lost ground to Wall Street rivals during the pandemic because volatile markets boosted the earning power of US banks’ outsized trading arms. European rivals earn proportionately more from lending and benefit from a higher interest rate environment. Deutsche Bank on Thursday defied market expectations to post a profit for the fourth quarter of 2021, as investment bank revenues rose. The German lender said profit attributable to shareholders came in at 145 million euro for the final three months of the year, a sixth consecutive quarter of profit and almost triple its profit for the same period in 2020. Denmark and Austria became the latest countries to ease COVID-19 restrictions, following similar moves by Britain, Ireland, and the Netherlands, while other countries in Europe planned new measures to battle record numbers of infections.

USD

The dollar is well bid against most major currencies overnight. As fears of an invasion of Ukraine have grown, US officials said on Tuesday that they had been negotiating with global suppliers, and they were now confident that Europe would not suffer from a sudden loss of energy for heating in the middle of winter. Chip inventory held by manufacturers has plummeted to an average of just five days’ supply, as the global semiconductor shortage continues to wreak havoc on industry, the US Department of Commerce has warned. Insurance payments to US farmers for crops lost to droughts and flooding have risen more than threefold over the past 25 years, according to an analysis of federal data by the Environmental Working Group released on Thursday. Dr Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, issued a warning Wednesday that it is too early to consider Covid ‘controlled’ in the US. The director of the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Disease warned that the current Covid situation is not as optimistic as some officials and experts are saying.

Ballinger & CO. Morning Report- 27th January 2022



Today’s Rates

GBP>EUR – 1.1987

GBP>USD – 1.3423

EUR>USD – 1.1198

GBP>CAD – 1.7022

GBP>AUD – 1.8940

GBP>SEK – 12.553

GBP>AED – 4.9300

GBP>HKD – 10.458

GBP>ZAR – 20.496

GBP>CHF – 1.2442

Today’s Calendar           

·      8:00 a.m.: Switzerland Dec. watch exports

·      8:00 a.m.: Germany Feb. consumer confidence

·      8:00 a.m.: Norway Nov. unemployment rate

·      9:00 a.m.: Hungary Dec. unemployment

·      9:00 a.m.: Spain 4Q unemployment rate

·      9:30 a.m.: Hungary one-week deposit rate

·      10:00 a.m.: Italy Nov. industrial sales

·      11:00 a.m.: Hungary sells bonds

·      11:00 a.m.: Italy sells bills

·      2:30 p.m.: ECB’s Scicluna speaks

·      2:30 p.m.: U.S. initial jobless claims, 4Q annualized GDP   

Today’s Highlights

·       Forex Today: Dollar rallies, global stocks plunge, focus shifts to US GDP data

·       EUR/USD Forecast: Sellers eye fresh 18-month lows below 1.1190

·       USD’s renewed upward momentum reinforced by hawkish Fed update – MUFG

·       GBP/USD hits monthly lows below 1.3450 amid Fed-led risk-aversion

 (https://frank-exchange.com/)

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.The body content of your post goes here. To edit this text, click on it and delete this default text and start typing your own or paste your own from a different source.

Tags:

Looking for a money transfer service? Request for a call today!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *