The dollar and euro were little changed on Monday as traders await decisions by the U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank on how much and how fast they may reduce interest rates, beginning with the ECB on Thursday. Traders see about a 46% probability that European policymakers will lower a key deposit rate by 10 basis points to -0.50 basis point to combat risk from global trade tensions and anemic regional inflation, based on local interest rates markets. “The market is just waiting for what Draghi has to ...

President Donald Trump wants a cheaper dollar, saying earlier this month the United States should match what he says are efforts by other countries to weaken their own currencies – giving them an unfair trade advantage. The comments have prompted speculation the president could order sales of the greenback, which is near a multi-decade high and, according to the International Monetary Fund on Wednesday, at least 6% stronger than warranted by economic fundamentals. “Conditions seem increasingly favorable for the U.S. administration to intervene against perceived (dollar) overvaluation,” Citi economists said ...

Foreign-exchange markets started the week waiting to see how much and how fast policymakers might ease policy, beginning with the European Central Bank on Thursday. The euro weakened to $1.12 in Asian trading as the dollar gained on safe-haven demand amid rising tensions in the Middle East. Positioning data published last week showed that investors remain net long of dollars, unchanged from the previous week. Foreign exchange has been stuck in trading ranges in recent weeks, with expectations for easing by both the Federal Reserve and the ECB more or ...

After facing bipartisan opposition to its plans for Libra, many question the ability of Facebook to pull off an international digital currency. Marketocracy’s Robert Frazier sees Libra bringing billions of people in third-world countries into the world economy , and the trillion-dollar marketplace it would create becoming the future of Facebook. Ken Kam: Facebook has been a very profitable position for you over the last 7 years. What do you think about Libra as a shift in their strategy? Robert Frazier: I think over time it will become the most ...

China’s central bank on Friday lifted its official yuan midpoint to 6.8635 per dollar, the strongest in 2-1/2 weeks, tracking weakness in the greenback after a U.S. Federal Reserve official bolstered market bets of an interest rate cut later this month. Friday’s midpoint was 126 pips, or 0.18 percent, firmer than the previous fix of 6.8761 and was the strongest since July 2. Source: Reuters (Reporting by Winni Zhou and John Ruwitch; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)

The U.S. dollar rose in afternoon trade on Friday as fears of a larger-than-expected 50-basis-point interest rate cut in July abated after the New York Federal Reserve walked back dovish comments from its president the prior day. At a conference on Thursday, New York Fed President John Williams argued for pre-emptive measures to avoid having to deal with too-low inflation and interest rates. The dollar dropped before rebounding after a New York Fed representative subsequently said Williams’ comments were not about immediate policy direction. Williams has “reassured markets that his ...

The euro fell against a rebounding U.S. dollar on Friday and hit a 2-year low versus the Swiss franc, as investors ramped up bets for a European Central Bank interest rate cut as early as next week. Money markets are now pricing in a roughly 60% chance of a 10 basis point rate cut next week, versus a 40% chance earlier in the week. The euro’s drop reversed some of its gains in the previous session when dovish comments from a key Federal Reserve policymaker bolstered expectations of an aggressive ...

Sterling volatility is getting a shake-up as the risk of the U.K. crashing out of the European Union grows. Measures of expected pound swings over the next three and six months, covering the run-up to and the aftermath of the Oct. 31 Brexit deadline, have surged to the highest among Group-of-10 currencies. The gauges may still climb, being well short of the levels ahead of the original March deadline. U.K. Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay said no-deal risks are “underpriced,” while the EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier said the U.K. would ...

Investors cut bearish bets on most Asian units and went long on the rupiah for the first time in nearly three months, a Reuters poll showed, as hopes of the U.S. Federal Reserve trimming interest rates weakened prospects for the greenback. Despite a raft of strong U.S. economic data lately, concerns over the U.S.-China trade tensions and weak inflation have turned most Fed officials decidedly dovish. The central bank’s first rate reduction in a decade is expected later this month. An average of 14 analysts were bullish on the Indonesian ...

The U.S. dollar recovered slightly in early Friday trading, having fallen heavily after dovish comments from a key policymaker bolstered expectations of an aggressive interest rate cut this month. At a central banking conference on Thursday, New York Fed President John Williams argued for pre-emptive measures to avoid having to deal with too-low inflation and interest rates. That sent the dollar down before it rebounded slightly after a New York Fed representative subsequently said Williams’ comments were academic and not about immediate policy direction. Investors took Williams’ remarks along with ...

The euro dipped on Thursday following a report the European Central Bank staff is studying a potential change to its inflation goal, while the dollar was little changed amid bets the Federal Reserve would lower interest rates in two weeks. Sterling rose for a second day, rebounding from a 27-month low against the greenback, on surprisingly strong UK domestic retail sales last month and developments that would make it harder for the next prime minister to force a no-deal Brexit. Trading among major currencies was mostly muted as market players ...

The dollar broadly edged lower against its rivals on Thursday after softer U.S. Treasury yields in the wake of weak U.S. housing data sapped demand as investors focused their attention on a Fed meeting next week. While expectations of a 25 basis point rate cut are baked into money markets, some investors are gunning for a 50 basis point cut. The Fed is widely expected to cut a total of 75 basis points by the end of the year. Morgan Stanley strategists said in a daily note that the overall ...

There is a good reason why every civilized country in the world tightly regulates its financial system. The 2008 global financial crisis, after all, was largely the result of rolling back financial regulation. Crooks, criminals, and grifters are a fact of life, and no financial system can serve its proper purpose unless investors are protected from them. Hence, there are regulations requiring that securities be registered, that money-servicing activities be licensed, that capital controls include “anti-money-laundering” and “know your customer” provisions (to prevent tax evasion and other illicit financial flows), ...

The dollar softened against most major currencies on Wednesday in step with lower U.S. bond yields and expectations the Federal Reserve would lower interest rates, reversing some of the prior day’s gains tied to stronger-than-forecast retail sales data. The pound fell to 27-month lows versus the greenback on jitters about a no-deal Brexit before rebounding in U.S. trading. “With the market pricing for lower interest rates, that’s keeping a lid on the dollar,” said Chris Gaffney, president of world markets at TIAA Bank in St. Louis. The greenback was also ...

The euro fell to a one-week low against the dollar on Wednesday towards the lower end of this year’s range, weighed down by expectations of monetary policy easing and investors’ preference for the greenback. Analysts say it is unlikely it will recover in the short-term before a European Central Bank meeting next week where policymakers might unveil plans for fresh monetary stimulus. Nearly two interest rate cuts of 10 basis points are priced in by money markets in 2019 and a worse-than-expected ZEW survey of German economic sentiment this week ...