Canadian Dollar: GDP and COVID-19 Advantage over the U.S. Dollar

The Bank of Canada (BoC) released its latest Monetary Policy Report on July 15, 2020. Neither the report nor the press conference contained any surprises. The BoC did not change interest rates, kept the crank turning on its Quantitative Easing (QE) program, and promised to “hold the policy interest rate at the effective lower bound … Read more

Bottoming U.S. Dollar Ends Bargain Shopping in Mexican peso, South African rand

The U.S. dollar index (DXY) continues to pivot around its 200-day moving average (DMA). Last week, the U.S. dollar bounced before retesting the lows from March. The U.S. dollar now looks ready to challenge its 200DMA as resistance; it will likely complete another cycle by rallying at least to the previous highs above the 200DMA. … Read more

The U.S. Dollar Remains Well-Supported Despite A Month of Wild Swings

When the stock market sell-off began in earnest in late February, the U.S. dollar index (DXY) surprisingly plunged along with the major indices. I accepted the narrative explaining that the dollar’s decline came from the euro’s gain as “risk-off” traders rushed to close out euro shorts in carry trades. The swiftness of the risk-off move … Read more

Central Bank Unease: Fed Caps Week of Emergency Actions As Markets Panic

In an earlier post on Sunday, I provided reasons to believe that the market was finally drawing a line in the sand for a sustainable bottom. With anticipation, I pronounced I would go on a shopping spreed down to S&P 500 (SPY) 2600. At the time of writing, it looks like I may have to … Read more

A Viral Cure from the Federal Reserve: An Ambulance Full of Rate Cuts

Fed to the Rescue If you are sitting at home wringing your hands about catching a virus from the outside world, I am guessing you are not exactly relieved to hear that the U.S. Federal Reserve may try to come to your rescue with more rate cuts. Yet, easy money is what central banks know … Read more