US: Strong foreign demand of financial assets - RBS

Sandeep Kanihama FXStreet Contributor

Analysts at RBS note that the foreign appetite for US financial assets shows few signs of waning.

Key Quotes

“Net foreign demand for long-term US securities rebounded to $74.8bn in July after net sales of $36bn in June, driven by significant overseas buying of US securities and sizeable US sales of foreign financial assets.”

“Total Chinese holdings of US government bonds remained pretty steady in early Q3, at $1.17 trillion. So, there is little evidence China is divesting from US government bonds despite ongoing US/Sino trade tensions. China’s central bank has ruled out a forced devaluation of the Yuan, fearful of a repeat of marked capital outflows in early 2015.”

Author

Sandeep Kanihama

FXStreet Contributor

Sandeep Kanihama is an FX Editor and Analyst with FXstreet having principally focus area on Asia and European markets with commodity, currency and equities coverage. He is stationed in the Indian capital city of Delhi.

GBP/USD advances to three-month peak beyond 1.3600

GBP/USD extends its daily rally and trades at its highest level since mid-May above 1.3600. The US Treasury Department decision to double the sice of liquidity support buyback operations for longer-dated nominal coupon securitiez weighs heavily on the US Dollar and helps the pair push higher. Earlier in the day, the data from the UK showed that annual Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation picked up to 2.9% in July, meeting estimates, while core CPI rose by 2.6% YoY in July versus 2.5% expected.

EUR/USD surges to 11-week high above 1.1650 after US Treasury announcement

EUR/USD gathers bullish momentum and trades at its highest level since early June above 1.1650 on Wednesday. The US Dollar stays under heavy bearish pressure after the US Treasury announced that it will increase the size of liquidity support buyback operations for longer-dated nominal coupon securities. Later in the day, investors will scrutinize FOMC Minutes for fresh clues on policy outlook.

Gold climbs 2% as US Treasury buyback plan pressures long-term yields

Gold (XAU/USD) enters Wednesday’s American trading hours with decent intraday gains, as a softer US Dollar (USD) and a sharp pullback in long-term US Treasury yields help the metal recover all the previous day’s losses.

Australia unemployment rate expected to hold at 4.4% in July

Australia will release the July monthly employment report on Thursday at 01:30 GMT. Ahead of the announcement, analysts anticipate a modest 15K increase in job creation, while the Unemployment Rate is expected to remain steady at 4.4%.

WTI Oil climbs as US-Iran standoff keeps Middle East supply risks elevated

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) Oil holds firm on Wednesday, hovering near its highest level in more than three weeks as traders balance Middle East supply risks against rising US crude inventories. At the time of writing, the US benchmark trades around $85.20 per barrel, up nearly 1% on the day.

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.