Summary
With varying levels of recovery growth in the economies they regulate the different central banks are at a crossroads for policy divergence. New Zealand with its commodity driven economy and the rebuild for Christchurch stoking inflation has already raised interest rates three times while others are rumored to be next for one reason or another. Amidst this environment we find the ECB taking the extreme opposite with its recent moves of a triple rate cut and negative deposit rates to mounting calls for actually printing money. Join Mark de la Paz as we examine the conditions facing the European Central Bank in its latest Governing Council meeting and how do these relate to its upcoming decision and the Euros technical outlookLatest Live Videos
Editors’ Picks
WTI jumps above $70.50 on fears of Iran supply disruption
West Texas Intermediate, the US crude oil benchmark, is trading around $70.65 during the early European trading hours on Friday. The WTI jumps to its highest since June 2025 after joint military strikes by the US and Israel against Iran over the weekend. Traders brace for the release of the American Petroleum Institute report, which will be released later on Tuesday.
Gold jumps over 2% toward $5,400 after US, Israel attack Iran
Gold is on fire at the start of the week, a widely expected move, as investors seek harbor in the traditional store of value, following the continued US and Israel attacks on Iran. The bright metal opened with a bullish gap of about $17 and rallied toward the $5,400 level as Asian traders hit their desks and reacted negatively to the weekend news of the Middle East conflict, rushing for cover in Gold.
AUD/USD pares recent losses despite Middle-East conflict
AUD/USD recovers after opening at a gap down, trading around 0.7070 during the Asian hours on Monday. The risk-sensitive pair plunged as risk aversion heightened after the United States and Israel carried out coordinated strikes on Iran over the weekend.
Iran escalation: Quick thoughts on markets
Markets are likely to open the week with risk-off, with declines led by airlines, cyclicals and trade-exposed names, while energy, defense and “strategic” sectors may be relatively steadier.
Crisis in the Middle East: The market reaction
A primer on how markets will open on Monday, and why geopolitical risk may not be easily absorbed by financial markets this time around. Geopolitics and events between Iran, the US and the wider Middle East will dominate financial markets on Monday. The situation has continued to escalate as we move through Sunday.
February employment preview: Back to payroll reality
We expect the February employment report to show that January’s robust pace of job growth overstated underlying momentum in the labor market. We look for nonfarm payrolls to rise 45K in February, moderating from its current three-month average pace of 73K (Figure 1).