Market News

All eyes are on the U.S. Federal Reserve which is beginning its two-day policy meeting today after which the Fed is largely expected to keep interest rates stable while announcing a plan to reduce its balance sheets.

The Pound Sterling struck a 15-month peak versus its US counterpart ahead of Mark Carney’s speech later today.

Oil prices remained firm during Mondays Asian trading session and hovered near multi-month highs after U.S. drilling for new production declined and U.S. refineries continued their reboot after getting hit by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma earlier this month.

This week will have a high-impact news agenda, with monthly policy commentaries and bid rates from the FOMC and the Bank of Japan, as well as the Minutes of the recent determinations of the Reserve Bank of Australia.

Safe haven currencies were a hot commodity in the FX space after North Korea fired yet another missile, this time into the Pacific Ocean through Japanese airspace.

The Dollar’s recent gains came to what investors hope is only a temporary pause as FX traders await today’s release of key inflation figures which could help pinpoint the Fed’s likely timing of its next move.

After rising broadly on Wednesday, Asian stocks inched down on Thursday after Chinese data showed weaker than expected results in multiple verticals.

Some US Dollar investors are foreseeing a day on the sidelines as they await tomorrow’s release of inflation date to help them gauge Fed sentiment.

Wall Street closed at record highs on Tuesday, led by gains in the financial sector as traders returned to riskier assets as concerns about hurricane damage and North Korean tensions continued to subside.

The US Dollar continues to remain steady as investors ponder the likely future of the greenback.

Asian shares hit 10-year highs on Tuesday and the U.S. dollar headed higher as the damage from Hurricane Irma proved to be far less than expected.

The US Dollar climbed against the Japanese Yen, perceived by investors as a safe haven currency, after recording its largest weekly fall in two months.

The U.S. dollar headed higher on Monday morning despite the potential damage from Hurricane Irma

This week will have a relatively full news agenda, including some items of key U.S. data. The agenda will be dominated by monthly policy commentaries

The Euro remained close to a 2 ½ year peak against the US Dollar after the European Central Bank reaffirmed its current monetary policy.