SGM-FX insights

Mid-term Day:   US voters travelled to the polls today with the political composition of the United States on the line. The mid-term elections are closing in on their twilight with seats in Congress’ House of Representatives and the Senate up for grabs. Throughout the day it has grown increasingly likely that votes in the […]

EUR-avin’ a laugh.   The Commission sits today to discuss the future of the Italian budget. The Euro found support on Friday and throughout the weekend whilst EU Commission President Juncker proclaimed that there was no risk of Italy leaving the Euro. Labelling the secessionist forces that threaten to drag Italy away from Eurozone membership […]

Left; Right; Left; Right; A-Ten-Hut!   Defence was put on the table by the United Kingdom as a bargaining chip for a post-Brexit trading relationship. The UK is one of few nations that meets its NATO spending requirements on defence when measured as a percentage of GDP. Understandably, the UK has a developed defence sector, […]

Yes! No! Yes! NO! YES…! Maybe.   Well, that’s the Pound covered in a headline. Overnight, announcements claiming that the European Union and the United Kingdom were millimetres away from securing a deal for post-exit financial services allowed the Pound to secure an enormous bid. The fun came to an end momentarily at 10AM with […]

Porcupine Pound:   It was apparent as of market open this morning that the Pound had managed to secure a stronger footing. Stemming largely from a mild improvement in Brexit sentiment, the Pound soon recovered off of its 1.2701 lows against the US Dollar, even breaking through 1.13 against the Euro on two occasions this […]

Out for a penny, out for the Pound:   The Pound faced another day of horrors losing as much one half of one percent on a trade weighted basis versus its peers. Following the most generous budget for 10 years, investors have confirmed their sentiment that Brexit is all that matters now. With the deadline […]

Not such a budget Budget!   The Chancellor delivered his budget speech this afternoon to the House of Commons. The event, as expected, received little market fall out as investors largely disregarded the spending promises given the political tumult caused by Brexit. Nevertheless, the news was positive: upgraded growth forecasts from the Office for Budget […]

Clarida’s Confessions:   The Dollar continued its rampant appreciation this morning following the testimony of the Federal Reserve’s Vice Chairman, Richard Clarida. In the first major speech of his appointment, the American economist sided with further US monetary policy tightening. The Vice Chair did not appear concerned by equity market evolutions in the previous weeks […]

Elephant in the Room:   The European Central Bank published its latest monetary policy decision today, with the European monetary authority leaving interest rates unchanged. The Bank held the main refinancing rate at 0% with the deposit rate, the reward for holding funds at the bank overnight, at -0.40. The ultra-accommodative monetary policy stance is […]

Auspicious Start…   The Rand has lost close to 1% on a trade weighted basis today alone. The depreciation of the South African currency has occurred despite the intraday appreciation of the broader basket of emerging market currencies. Presenting the mid-term budget statement, South Africa’s new Finance Minister, Tito Mboweni, announced that South Africa’s fiscal […]

48%; 52%; 95%!   European Integration has progressed at a minimum of two different and distinct paces since 1992 and the signing of the Maastricht Treaty. Those travelling at the first place, the most advanced threshold of integration within the union, is populated by member states participating in the shared currency, operating under an enhanced […]

Playground squabbles   The Dollar is on the rise with the Pound and the Euro feeling the pressure of increased political uncertainty. The Dollar’s early bid of the week stems from the White House’s suggestion over the weekend that arms treaties with Russia should be suspended. Amidst an incumbent crisis in Saudi Arabia, the elevated […]