Land of the free
Today’s news headlines:
‘Powell under pressure over impact of Biden stimulus’. The pressure is building on Federal Reserve Chief Jerome Powell as the addition of large-scale fiscal stimulus becomes a reality. The onus is now on the central bank to signal how and when it plans to start dialling back its monetary support, as a jump in inflation looms. The US economy remains far from the 2.0% inflation target and full levels of employment. The recent jobless rate stat dropped to 6.3% on the back of many Americans leaving the workforce, likely discouraged by their chances of finding work again. However, as the rate of vaccinations in the US start to creep up, many economists have become increasingly upbeat that significant improvement is right around the corner. (Financial Times)
‘US Senate votes to proceed with second Trump impeachment trial’. Although an overwhelming majority of Republicans backed the former President, they rejected Donald Trump's legal team's argument that the process was unconstitutional. Only six out of the 50 Republican Senators voted for a motion that the former President could be tried even after his time at the helm. it now seems unlikely that Trump will face a conviction for inciting the deadly riot on the US Capitol on January 6th. (Financial Times)
Today's events, rates, and data
- It's a fairly busy day for data releases with a focus on the US. GBP/USD has passed 1.38 hitting its highest level since 2018 aided by economic optimism in the UK. Meanwhile, EUR/USD has made similar gains, topping 1.21 despite Europe lagging behind in the vaccine rollout compared to the US and the UK.
Today's events
German final CPI m/m: 0.8% vs 0.8% last month.
French Industrial Production m/m: -0.8% vs -0.7% last month.
US CPI m/m: 0.3% vs 0.4% last month.
US Core CPI m/m: 0.2% vs 0.1% last month.
US Crude Oil Inventories: 3:30PM
BOE Governor Andrew Bailey Speaks: 5:00PM
Fed Chair Jerome Powell Speaks: 7:00PM
US Federal Budget Balance: 7:00PM
Interbank rates
GBP/USD – 1.3825
GBP/EUR – 1.1402
EUR/USD – 1.2130
USD/CAD – 1.2687