Market Overview
Key Points:
• Risk currencies recovered Monday which is a small miracle if we look at how ugly the markets have been of late. The greenback is lower, and equities have started the week well.
• Australian Retail Sales +0.9% vs +0.3% releasing much higher than predicted. This will be adding to the case for an interest rate hike at the RBA’s 7th November meeting.
• Bank of Canada’s Macklem is suggesting the BoC (Bank of Canada) will need to raise policy to restore price stability. It’s reported that the Canadian economy may be headed for a sharp pullback into a recession early next year.
• Crude Oil has fallen over 3.5% in overnight trading to 82.55 as geopolitical fears in Gaza ease. We expect prices to drop in the coming days as OPEC tightens global supply/demand.
• German inflation eased in October contracting 0.3% y/y for the third quarter to 0.0% from 0.3%. This takes the y/y number to 3.8% down from 4.5%
• The Federal Reserve look to be finished with rate hikes saying they expect rates to stay high for an extended period before aggressive hikes kick in, in 2025.
• The Swiss Franc (CHF) has been the strongest currency in the month of October while the New Zealand Dollar (NZD) has largely underperformed and is by far the worst performer.