Market News

The Pound Sterling firmed against the US Dollar in Monday’s trading in Europe after seeing a 1% rise last week.

After rebounding over the weekend, the U.S. dollar took a step backwards against most of its major counterparts Monday with traders factoring in the probability that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates next month.

Not much was decided at the 2-day G7 meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors in Sendai over the weekend.

This week can be expected to be less active than the previous week, with Central Bank input due concerning only the Canadian Dollar on Wednesday, although the New Zealand government will be releasing its annual budget on Thursday.

The G7 financial leaders will be meeting in Japan’s Sendai this weekend to discuss currency volatility and methods required in revitalizing leading economies.

There’s growing certainty that the Federal Reserve Bank is likely to boost interest rates within the next quarter.

Several economic reports are due out today. The first one out should be the monthly update on British retail spending. So far, despite warnings of possible negative repercussions if the UK quits the EU, so far there hasn’t been any sign of a Brexit fallout in the labor market data for April.

The minutes from the April FOMC meeting are out and not everyone is pleased with the content. The minutes increased the likelihood of an interest rate hike, sending the dollar higher Thursday and confusing Asian markets.

The Pound Sterling advanced against the common currency Euro and struck a 2½ week peak earlier today after the latest UK poll showed a 44% lead in favor of remaining within the European Union.

Speculation is heating up before the 2 p.m. release of the minutes from the last FMOC meeting. Both equity and bond markets reacted strongly Tuesday in anticipation of the hawkish Fed report.

The news out of Japan is positive. Its annualized quarterly growth came in much higher than expected surprising markets and investors alike.

U.S. manufacturing production rose in April for the first time in three months, indicating a respite for the industry after a one-year slump, a Federal Reserve report showed Tuesday.

Earlier today, Eurostat, the statistics office for the European Union, released external trade data for March on the countries which share the common currency.

The dollar slipped slightly in Asian trading on Tuesday, while the Australian dollar soared after RBA minutes lessened expectations of an interest rate cut.

The Japanese government increased its rhetoric regarding the threat to intervene in the Japanese Yen’s appreciation, despite the looming G7 meeting this week.