Forex Critical: Speculators Abandon Shorts on the British Pound

In one fell swoop, the Bank of England’s (BoE) hawkish posturing flushed shorts out of the British pound (FXB). The net short position of speculators has not been this low ever since the latest wave of currency bearishness began against the British pound. Source: Oanda’s CFTC’s Commitments of Traders This rapid closure of shorts helps … Read more

The British Pound and Carney Are Deja Vu All Over Again

“There’s already great speculation about the exact timing of the first rate hike and this decision is becoming more balanced. It could happen sooner than markets currently expect… …The need for internal balance – to use up wasteful spare capacity while achieving the inflation target – will likely require gradual and limited interest rate increases … Read more

Above the 40 (June 8, 2017) – The Market’s Bullish Push Through Thursday’s Trifecta

AT40 = 52.1% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 55.4% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 10.2 (volatility index) Short-term Trading Call: cautiously bullish Commentary One out of three. The last event of Thursday’s Trifecta had the only notable impact on financial markets. With … Read more

Forex Critical: Pound Bears Hold Firm Ahead Of Brexit’s Article 50 Trigger

A week ago, the CFTC’s Commitments of Traders report revealed that speculators had ramped up net short contracts to highs unseen since at least 2008. These positions were accumulated ahead of announcements on monetary policy from the Bank of England and the U.S. Federal Reserve. Given the British pound soared through these events, I assumed … Read more

Forex Critical – A Temporary Boost for the British Pound from A Hot Inflation Read

The Bank of England (BoE) has not raised interest rates since the Great Financial Crisis. During this time, there have been several inflation “scares” as inflation levitated well above the Bank’s 2% target. Through it all, the BoE stood resolute in choosing to see through the elevated inflation in order to avoid premature rate hikes … Read more