|

Fed ready to hike in December – UOB

Following Friday’s payrolls figures, Strategists at UOB Group assessed the prospects for further tightening by the Fed by year-end.

Key Quotes

“The surprise drop in September’s headline figure was largely due to temporary disruption from weather factors, and is unlikely to distract the US Fed from raising the US Fed funds rate in December, nor its balance sheet reduction (BSR) process. Other indicators such as earnings continue to point to a labour market that is still on upward momentum which would strengthen the case for the US Fed”.

“Indeed, US financial markets have largely shrugged off the NFP report and focused ahead on US Fed and US President Trump’s tax reform policy”.

“Across Friday, various US Federal Reserve officials, including New York FED President William Dudley, Atlanta FED President Raphael Bostic, St Louis FED President James Bullard and Dallas FED President Robert Kaplan all gave their obligatory comments on the outlook of interest rates in the US. In general, all of them kept to their respective hawk vs dove script, but the general consensus remains that a December rate hike remains strongly in the offering. As such, futures implied probability of a December rate hike remains high at around 80%”.

Author

Pablo Piovano

Born and bred in Argentina, Pablo has been carrying on with his passion for FX markets and trading since his first college years.

More from Pablo Piovano
Share:

Editor's Picks

GBP/USD hits multi-week tops around 1.3560

GBP/USD gathers fresh steam and advances to new three-month peaks near the 1.3560 zone on Friday. Cable’s sharp move higher comes after three daily drops in a row and follows the increasing selling pressure hurting the Greenback.

EUR/USD pops to fresh two-month highs, targets 1.1600

EUR/USD advances markedly, revisiting the upper 1.1500s for the first time since mid-June. The pair’s sharp uptick comes on the back of a strong retracement in the US Dollar amid BoJ intervention chatter and despite steady uncertainty in the Middle East.

Gold picks up pace, approaches $4,400

Gold rebounds toward the $4,400 mark per troy ounce on Friday, reversing the previous day’s pullback. The precious metal’s recovery comes as fresh and intense weakness keep weighing on the US Dollar, while traders keep assessing easing expectations of an imminent Fed interest rate hike and the situation from the Middle East.

Pi Network Price Forecast: PI extends consolidation as bulls eye $0.10
Pi Network (PI) price holds steady on Friday, maintaining a consolidating tone for three consecutive days. Mild retail strength in the PI token remains stable, with Open Interest above $9 million, while social buzz eases. PI token’s technical outlook is mixed, as bearish momentum wanes to neutral, with bulls eyeing the $0.1000 psychological level.
 Weekly focus: Some relief in US inflation concerns

Actual inflation data for July came out as expected with a 0.1% m/m increase in headline CPI and 0.2% excluding food and energy. Annual headline inflation remains too high at 3.4% and means that wage earners are experiencing stagnating spending power at best, and core inflation is a bit higher than the inflation target of two percent would suggest.

Why is Crude Oil priced for a reopening the ships haven't made?
Fourteen vessels crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday. Before the war, the count ran near 120 a day. In the sessions since the waterway was publicly declared open, Brent has drifted back to $87 and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) to $81, both a little lower again on Wednesday, with daily momentum on each unwound from the top of its range in late July to the low twenties now.