21 March 2014 The Big Picture The U.S. dollar continued to benefit from Fed Chair Janet Yellen’s statement and has strengthened against eight of its 10 developed-nation counterparts this week, with only the Australian and New Zealand dollars climbing. The focus today will be on comments from three Fed speakers. U.S data released yesterday added to dollar’s gains. The Philadelphia Fed Survey rose to 9.0 in March from -6.3 the previous month. Employment data released on Thursday showed weekly jobless claims for the week ended on March 15 rose by 5k to a seasonally adjusted 320k. Analysts had expected jobless claims to rise by 10k. Yesterday, the euro reached a two-week low. There was more pressure on the common currency after the statement of European Central Bank Executive Board Member Sabine Lautenschlaeger about interest rates. She stated that rates will remain low for an extended period or even go lower. The Australian dollar advanced after Citigroup Inc.’s Economic Surprise Index indicated that economic reports have been exceeding economist estimates. This index measures the gap between data reports and analyst estimates. Crude oil prices fell in Asia on Friday as U.S. oil inventories rose for a ninth week. Gold advanced on speculation that the Federal Reserve statement about interest rates would boost physical demand for the precious metal. On Friday, Eurozone’s preliminary consumer confidence for March is forecast to rise to -12.3 from -12.7 in February. In Canada, retail sales are estimated to have risen 0.7% mom in January after falling 1.8% mom in December, while Canada’s CPI is forecast to have slowed to +1.0% yoy in February from +1.5% yoy in January. Three Fed speakers are scheduled on Friday. St. Louis Fed President James Bullard speaks on the topic Debt and Incomplete Financial Markets: A Case for Nominal GDP, Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher will deliver a speech titled “Forward Guidance: Fad or the Future of Monetary Policy, while Minneapolis Fed President Narayana Kocherlakota speaks on Transitional and longer-term challenges for monetary policy.
Posted on: Fri, 21 Mar 2014 09:31:45 +0000