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According to a report from the US Department of Labour (DOL) released on Thursday, the number of US citizens submitting new applications for unemployment insurance shrank to 226K for the week ending June 13. The latest print came in a tad above initial estimates (225K) and was slightly lower than the previous week’s 230K (revised from 229K).Additionally, the 4-week moving average went up by 4K, bringing it to 223.25K from the revised average of the previous week (219.25K).The report also indicated that Continuing Jobless Claims increased by 24K to 1.810M for the week ending June 6.What do US Initial Jobless…
The Indian rupee’s rally on lower oil prices is likely to be constrained by the central bank’s unwinding of its sizable FX forward book and hedging of interest obligations on foreign currency deposits raised by Indian banks.The Reserve Bank of India’s short-dollar forward book is estimated to have ballooned to an all-time high of nearly $110 billion, according to two officials at foreign banks, up from $96 billion in April.The surge follows persistent central bank intervention across both domestic forwards and non-deliverable forward markets to support the rupee.The forward book is poised to expand further, with banks passing on the…
Bank Indonesia (BI) decided to hike the benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 5.75% on June 18, from the previous 5.5%. The decision aligned with the market expectations.The Indonesian Rupiah (IDR) received support against the US Dollar (USD) as an immediate reaction to the BI interest rate decision. However, the USD/IDR recovers and is trading around 17,890 at the time of writing.BI’s surprise rate hikeBI raised its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 5.50% on June 9, stepping in to stabilise the Indonesian Rupiah after the currency hit a series of record lows. A central bank…
USD/IDR inches lower after opening at a bullish gap, remaining in the positive territory and trading around 17,880 during the Asian hours on Thursday. The currency pair breaks lower as the Indonesian Rupiah (IDR) finds support ahead of Bank Indonesia’s (BI) policy meeting on Thursday.Traders are actively pricing in the possibility of a 25-basis-point interest rate hike to 5.75%, building on momentum from last week when BI delivered a surprise 25-basis-point increase. That unexpected move was aimed squarely at defending the Rupiah and taming accelerating inflationary pressures, as the country’s annual inflation rate jumped to 3.08% in May from 2.42%…
The White House stated that US President Donald Trump and Iran’s Masoud Pezeshkian signed the memorandum of understanding to end the US-Israel war on Iran, BBC reported late Wednesday.The document has been signed electronically by the two leaders after Iranian parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and US Vice President JD Vance electronically signed the agreement on Sunday.Earlier, both Trump and Iranian officials indicated that there would be a formal signing ceremony sometime later this week. According to Bloomberg, Iran and the US are expected to formally sign the MOU to end the war on Friday in Geneva.Market reactionAt the time…
The Pound Sterling (GBP) retreats towards 1.3400 against the US Dollar (USD) on Wednesday following the latest UK inflation report, forcing investors to reassess hawkish bets on the Bank of England (BoE), while solid US Retail Sales boost the Greenback ahead of the Federal Reserve (Fed) decision. The GBP/USD pair trades with losses of over 0.22%.GBP/USD retreats as strong US sales revive Dollar momentumSentiment remains neutral, as US equity markets fluctuate between gains and losses, with traders awaiting the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy meeting. The US central bank is expected to hold rates unchanged and update its economic projections and…
The rupee extended its gains marginally on Wednesday, closing at 94.53 per US dollar after retreating from the six-week high of 94.29 seen during the day, amid expectations of increased dollar flows into Indian banks from next week onwards.The rupee had closed at 94.56 on Tuesday.The Indian currency appreciated about 1.3% at the closing level after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) took a slew of measures to boost dollar inflows. The rupee is, however, still sharply weaker compared to its 90.98 per dollar close on February 27, a day before the US-Israel war against Iran broke out.The rupee had…
The United States (US) Federal Reserve (Fed) announces its interest rate decision on Wednesday, another pivotal meeting for markets to gauge the stance of policymakers and new Chair Kevin Warsh as energy prices retreat after the United States and Iran reached a framework deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.Markets widely expect the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) to keep interest rates unchanged in the range of 3.5%-3.75% for the fourth consecutive meeting in June. As this decision is fully priced in, the revised Summary of Economic Projections (SEP) and Fed Chair Warsh’s comments in his first post-meeting press conference will…
Rupee ended broadly unchanged against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday, coming down from a six-week high and giving up almost all of the day’s gains that were triggered by a crash in oil prices.The rupee opened higher at 94.4550 and extended gains to 94.2925 per U.S. dollar, its highest level since May 7.However, the currency saw a quick turnaround amid rising dollar demand from corporates and importers, and ended at 94.5250, against its previous close of 94.5600.A major headwind for the world’s third-largest oil importer is beginning to fade, after the benchmark Brent crude posted back-to-back 5% declines in last…
NZD/USD depreciates after registering modest gains in the previous day, trading around 0.5820 during the early European hours on Wednesday. The pair loses ground as the New Zealand Dollar (NZD) struggles on market caution ahead of the Federal Reserve (Fed) policy decision due later in the day.The US central bank is widely expected to maintain a cautious “wait-and-see” approach, keeping its benchmark interest rate unchanged within the 3.50% to 3.75% range. Traders expect Fed Chair Kevin Warsh to adopt a more hawkish tone during his first policy meeting.The NZD/USD pair may regain ground as risk aversion eases amid growing expectations…