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Forex

Euro nudges higher; China stimulus boosts Aussie and kiwi

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By Tom Westbrook and Alun John

SINGAPORE/LONDON (Reuters) -The euro strengthened on Monday after German inflation data, while commodity currencies rose on hopes for a turnaround in China’s economy and the Japanese yen steadied as traders reacted to the new prime minister’s call for a snap election.

Setting the broader tone for these moves was the U.S. dollar, which hovered near a one-year low against a basket of peers.

This week it will be shaped by non-farm payrolls data on Friday that will give the latest indication on the health of the U.S. economy, and the scale of rate cuts required in the next few months.

Expectations of significant U.S. monetary easing this year, which the Federal Reserve met with a recent 50-basis-point rate reduction, have sent the dollar lower against most majors in recent weeks.

The euro was at $1.1194, up 0.3% on the day, and strengthening a fraction after German inflation data showed price pressures were easing, though not as significantly as last week’s figures from France and Spain. Bloc wide data is due Tuesday.

The common currency was steady on the day against the pound at 83.43 pence.

That French and Spanish data price data, along with the latest signs of weak economic growth, caused several big investment banks to change their European Central Bank calls last week to include an October rate cut as well as the widely expected December move.

That meant the European common currency has weakened against most peers, and held steady against the U.S. dollar, even given Beijing’s economic stimulus measures that would normally be euro-positive due to the currency bloc’s trade ties with China.

“That inflation data last week gives the ECB the justification to deliver back-to-back rate cuts in October and December, and that’s certainly helping dampen the upside for the euro against the dollar from the China optimism that’s coming into the market,” said Lee Hardman, senior currency analyst, MUFG.

CHINA GROWTH HOPES

Elsewhere, the Australian and New Zealand dollars hit 2024 highs as rate cuts and expectations of fiscal support in China raised hopes of an improvement in the slowing economy and drove gains in Chinese markets and everything exposed to China’s growth.

The Australian dollar hit a 20-month high of $0.6941, and the New Zealand dollar rose to $0.6375, its highest level in 14-1/2 months. [AUD/]

Both units gained on European currencies, with the euro falling as low as A$1.6082 to its lowest on the since mid-July.

The Japanese yen was also in focus as Shigeru Ishiba – a former defence minister and erstwhile critic of aggressively easy policy – who last week won the leadership of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party said he would call a general election for Oct. 27.

The yen surged on Friday, and edged out to a one-week high of 141.65 per dollar in the Asian hours, but further moves were limited as Ishiba told public broadcaster NHK that from the government’s standpoint, policy must remain accommodative as a trend, given economic conditions.

Analysts said that was enough to pause the sharp rise in the yen following his victory and that a snap election could weigh on the yen at least over the short term.

“An election basically takes the Bank of Japan out of the equation until December … a marginal yen negative,” said Ray Attrill, National Australia Bank (OTC:)’s head of foreign exchange strategy.

The dollar was last up 0.17% at 142.45 yen.

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: U.S. Dollar and Chinese Yuan banknotes are seen in this illustration picture taken June 14, 2022. REUTERS/Florence Lo/Illustration/File photo

Beijing’s raft of stimulus measures drove a rally in last week, despite interest rates being lowered, as investors piled into Chinese stocks that notched their best week in a decade. The yuan broke the psychological 7-per-dollar mark in offshore trade on Friday though it hovered at 7.0125 in onshore trade on Monday. [CNY/]

Sterling was sitting out of most of the drama, up 0.2% on the dollar at $1.3402 and the Swiss franc softened, with the euro up 0.65% at 0.9439 francs, and the dollar 0.3% higher at 0.8429.

Forex

Dollar retains strength against peers on Trump trade

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By Chibuike Oguh and Alun John

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The U.S. dollar strengthened against major peers on Thursday, trading at a one-year high and headed for a fifth straight session of gains, propelled by market expectations since Donald Trump clinched a dramatic return to the White House.

Markets anticipate that the incoming Trump administration will impose trade tariffs and tighten immigration as well as deepen the deficit, measures deemed to be inflationary.

The president-elect’s Republican Party will control both houses of Congress when he takes office in January, Edison Research projected on Wednesday, giving him wide powers to push his agenda.

The greenback climbed above 156 yen for the first time since July and was last up 0.56% to 156.38 per dollar. The euro slumped to its weakest since November 2023 and was down 0.45% at $1.05165 in choppy trading. Sterling hit its lowest on the dollar in four months and was last down 0.44% to $1.2651.

Following his election, the market has been looking at Trump’s appointment and seeing that he is not going to compromise on his campaign goals, whether it’s tariffs or China, said Steven Englander, head of G10 FX strategy at Standard Chartered (OTC:) in New York. “The market is assuming that he’s going to go ahead and implement all the things that he’s promised to do,” he said.

U.S. producer prices picked up in October, the Labor Department reported on Thursday, a day after data showed that consumer inflation had barely budged last month. The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits fell last week, suggesting labor market strength, according to the Labor Department.

The data did not change views that the Federal Reserve would deliver a third interest rate cut next month.

Fed chair Jerome Powell said on Thursday there was no need to rush rate cuts given the strong U.S. economy. His speech echoed earlier comments on Thursday by Federal Reserve governor Adriana Kugler and Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin.

The , which measures the currency against six top counterparts including the euro and the yen, rose 0.17% to 106.64, after reaching as high as 107.07, its highest since early November 2023. The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes fell 3.7 basis points to 4.414%.

pulled back from a record high of $93,480 overnight and was last up 0.96% to $89,489. Trump has vowed to make the United States “the crypto capital of the planet.” declined 0.27% to $3,144.

The Swiss franc remained under pressure against the dollar, which was up 0.3% to 0.889 franc. The Australian dollar fell to a three-month low after marginally weaker jobs data, weakening to as low as $0.6453.

© Reuters. U.S. dollar banknotes are displayed in this illustration taken, February 14, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

“The price action that we’ve had is expected given the election outcome and the logic behind it is built on expectations rather than actualities: expectations of fiscal stimulus, tariffs and deregulation,” said Daragh Maher, head of FX strategy, Americas, at HSBC in New York.

“We’ve been in the dollar-bullish camp, so this seats neatly with our narrative, but clearly there’s been a big repricing.”

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Forex

UBS raises USD/JPY forecast, says another jump to 160 is possible

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Investing.com — UBS has raised its forecast for the in a note Thursday, expecting significant fluctuations in the exchange rate over the coming year.

The bank now projects the currency pair to reach 155 by December 2024, followed by 152 in March 2025, 150 in June, and 147 in September.

By year-end 2025, UBS targets 145, a revision from its earlier predictions of 147, 143, 140, and 138, respectively.

According to UBS, a near-term surge to 158-160 remains possible, especially if U.S. 10-year yields rise another 30-40 basis points, potentially hitting 4.8%.

“Based on sensitivity analysis over the past three years, a 10bp widening of the US-Japan 10-year yield differential coincides with a one-yen rise in the USDJPY exchange rate,” UBS explained.

If U.S. bond yields indeed spike to 4.8%, the bank says USD/JPY could temporarily reach 160, though they view this level as “unsustainable” and likely to invite Japanese intervention, as observed during similar peaks earlier in 2024.

UBS analysts believe the USD/JPY will face downward pressure in 2025, driven by several factors. A key factor is the anticipated Fed rate-cutting cycle, which UBS expects will lead to lower U.S. yields.

“We think current USDJPY levels are higher than justified by yield differentials,” UBS notes, estimating that the currency pair should trend toward 145-146.

Additionally, trade tensions and a potential Trump-led administration’s focus on a stronger yen may reinforce this trend.

For investors, UBS suggests that any near-term spike toward 160 could be an opportunity to “tactically sell USDJPY.” Over the long term, UBS sees multiple forces supporting a downtrend, with USD/JPY likely to end 2025 at 145.

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Sterling squashed by dollar steamroller, traders watch out for Reeves’ speech

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LONDON (Reuters) – The pound dropped to its lowest against the dollar since early July on Thursday, brushed aside by the U.S. currency’s relentless rise following Donald Trump’s U.S. election victory.

Those developments are swamping British news for investors, although they will be keeping an eye on finance minister Rachel Reeves’ first Mansion House speech to leaders of the City, as well as remarks from Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey.

Reeves said in advance that she wants Britain to build a slew of “megafunds” with up to 80 billion pounds ($102 billion) in fresh investment firepower, under plans for the biggest shake-up in British pensions seen in decades.

Sterling was last down 0.6% on the dollar at 1.2632, its lowest since July 2, falling through its early August low in mid-morning London trading.

The move was largely in line with peers. The euro was down 0.6%, at a one year low, and the dollar was around 0.5% higher on the Japanese yen and the Swiss franc. [FRX/]

“Cable (pound/dollar) is a dollar story at the moment,” said Nick Rees, currency analyst at Monex Europe.

Higher trade tariffs and tighter immigration under the incoming Trump administration are projected to fuel inflation, potentially slowing the Federal Reserve’s rate cutting cycle longer term.

These, alongside expectations for deeper deficit spending and higher short term economic growth are lifting Treasury yields, providing the dollar with additional support.

The benchmark hit 4.483% on Thursday, its highest since July. [US/]

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Pound and U.S. dollar banknotes are seen in this illustration taken January 6, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

The pound was steady on the euro at 83.12 pence to the common currency. It has been gradually strengthening in recent months, “a reflection of European political risk which should be negative for the euro,” said Rees, pointing to the situation in France and Germany.

The collapse of Germany’s ruling coalition last week forced the country into a snap election that will is likely to take place in February, while the French government is trying to push its draft budget for next year over the line, despite lacking a majority in parliament.

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