Summary:
- EUR trading below parity against the USD.
- UK at risk of energy crisis.
- Kiwi outperforms on Thursday.
EUR/USD trading below parity
The market is reflecting mixed signals for this currency pair. Policymakers at the European Central Bank have been relatively silent on the lecture circuit lately, but that may soon change as the summer comes to an end. There was disagreement about the 50-bps rate increase even as inflation pressures in the Eurozone had risen, according to the minutes of the ECB meeting in July. The ECB may ultimately disappoint in the upcoming months as fears turn back to weak growth, even as rates markets are discounting a more aggressive course going forward.
Powell might exert pressure on the market to raise expectations for the Fed's September rate hike to 75 basis points because the markets now expect the Fed to deliver approximately 65 basis points of increases. This may provide short-term support for the Dollar and maintain pressure on the Euro into the next month.
EUR/USD Price Chart
Risk of UK Stagflation rises
The market is reflecting bearish signals for this currency pair. The energy crisis in the Eurozone is still putting the Euro under pressure. As the economy slows and inflation pressures increase, the risk of stagflation in the UK is continuing to rise. However, given the developing energy crisis that threatens to drive UK inflation rates further higher into double digit territory over the coming few months, traders feel that the Bank of England is currently focusing on the latter of these two crises. In terms of odds on a BOE raise, markets are currently at their most aggressive levels of the year.
EUR/GBP Price Chart
GBP/NZD - Kiwi outperforms GBP
This week saw the start of the short-lived mid-month recovery in the Pound to New Zealand Dollar exchange rate. If the Kiwi continues to excel and Sterling continues to underperform among the major currencies, the exchange rate is likely to unravel even more in the days to come. After profiting from a general easing of the U.S. Dollar ahead of Friday's visit by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell at the annual Jackson Hole Symposium for central bankers, the New Zealand Dollar outperformed on Thursday in a booming market for Asia Pacific currencies.
GBP/NZD Price Chart
Sources: finance.yahoo.com, poundtserlinglive.com, dailyfx.com
