Highlights of the Minutes from the April 24/25 FOMC meeting
Posted on May 16th, 2012
The Minutes of the April 24/25 FOMC meeting indicated that Committee members viewed that the economy “continued to expand moderately” in the period since the last meeting in March. While some members noted increased confidence in the “durability of the recovery”, other cautioned against prematurely inferring strong underlying trends...
FOMC Minutes a Non-Event Against USD Strength: USD Index Approaches 2012 High
Posted on May 16th, 2012
The FOMC Minutes was released. As far as stimulus goes: “Several members indicated that additional monetary policy accommodation could be necessary if the economic recovery lost momentum or the downside risks to the forecast became great enough”. This is just rhetoric, and actually not as strong as we saw...
US Industrial Production Posts Larger-than-Expected Gain in April
Posted on May 16th, 2012
US industrial production jumped 1.1% in April, beating market expectations going into the report for a 0.6% increase. The previously reported flat readings for both February and March were revised to show changes of +0.4% and -0.6%, respectively, though the net impact of the revisions saw the first-quarter average...
US Housing Starts Rose in April; First Quarter Revised Up
Posted on May 16th, 2012
Privately owned housing starts in the US rose 2.6% in April to an annualized pace of 717,000 units, from a revised 699,000 units in March (previously reported as 654K,000) Market expectations going into the report had been for an increase to 685,000 (+4.7%) while RBC looked for a 2.4%...
Canadian Manufacturing Sales Jump 1.9% in March
Posted on May 16th, 2012
Canadian manufacturing sales rose 1.9% in March, rebounding from 0.2% and 2.3% drops in February and January, respectively. Much of the gain in March was concentrated in transportation and petroleum and coal sales, with more modest, albeit still solid, gains elsewhere. Boosting the transportation component, motor vehicle sales climbed...
USD/JPY Breaks Above Channel Resistance; Trades at May High
Posted on May 16th, 2012
USD/JPY indeed bottomed out in the short-term and broke above a declining channel resistance. The 1H chart shows the bottoming formation. There is resistance in the 80.50-80.60 area. This is the May high established in the beginning of the month.
USD/CAD Breaks Key Resistance Opening Up the 1.30 Handle
Posted on May 16th, 2012
The USD/CAD finally breaks above the 1.0050-1.0060 resistance, suggesting a bullish trend developing after a period of sideways trading below 1.0050. Looking at the 1H chart we see that the previous resistance is being treated as the market rejects a throwback attempt. A throwback to 1.00-1.0020 area would not...
EUR/USD – Reward to Risk Assessment for Buying Near the 1.2625 Support
Posted on May 16th, 2012
The EUR/USD is trading at a 4-month low and continues to be weighed by the uncertainty in the Greek parliament, which is headed for a re-election on June 17. One ray of light does shine from the diplomatic and cooperative appearance of Hollande and Merkel in the 5/15 meeting...
FX Thoughts for the Day
Posted on May 16th, 2012
Cable extended its downmove further breaking below its 55-Week-MA (1.5940) to a low of 1.5889 and is now bouncing back from its low. The strong uptrend since Jan-12 has been broken now and a failure to bounce back above 1.6000 will confirm a reversal. On the downside some Support...
Housing Starts Break 700K for the Third Time Since 2008
Posted on May 16th, 2012
Housing starts appear to have reached a new plateau above 700K in the first few months of 2012. While we do not expect a major resurgence in housing construction over the next several months, this support level is likely to form the new floor for housing construction. With the...
