January 11, 2023

“In the absence of high-impact economic data releases, major currency pairs remained relatively quiet early this morning. The US dollar remains pressured amid a better market mood. Investors are awaiting the key data release, CPI inflation for December, due tomorrow.”

Sam Cornford, Partner – Head of Trading

 

Main Headlines

The United States is looking to Canada to help cope with the growing number of migrants at the United States’ border with Mexico, a State Department spokeswoman said yesterday. A possible trilateral agreement with Canada, the United States and Mexico was on the table as the three countries met in Mexico for the North American Leaders’ Summit. The agreement would help thousands immigrate through legal channels, without having to put their lives at risk at the hands of human traffickers, Rosales said.

Boris Johnson joked to Downing Street staff “this is the most unsocially distanced party in the UK right now”, during a boozy Number 10 leaving do, ITV News has revealed in an explosive new podcast on the partygate scandal. The claim aired on Partygate: The Inside Story brings into fresh doubt Mr Johnson’s long-held position that he was unaware rules had been broken within Number 10 during the pandemic lockdown. Mr Johnson is still due to appear before a Commons standards committee, which is investigating whether he knowingly misled MPs when he insisted all guidance had been followed at the event.

 

GBP

Sterling is weaker than most major currencies in the early morning trade. Thousands of ambulance workers, including paramedics and call handlers, will walk out on strike again today after tensions between ministers and trade unions flared over the risk to patients. Business secretary Grant Shapps accused ambulance service unions of behaving in a way that was not acceptable in a “civilised society”, claiming they had failed to negotiate an agreed level of national safety with NHS employers.

 

EUR

Euro is well bid against most major currencies overnight. Poland’s prime minister argued strongly yesterday against the country’s adoption of the European Union’s common euro currency in the foreseeable future, claiming that its recent adoption in Croatia caused “chaos” and a cost of living spike. Premier Mateusz Morawiecki said that replacing Poland’s national currency, the zloty, with the euro would boost inflation that’s already above 17% and push up the cost of living for Poles. Morawiecki maintained that EU member Croatia, which switched to the euro on Jan. 1, was seeing “chaos” and prices that are reaching “exorbitant” levels.

 

USD

The dollar is stronger against sterling and weaker against euro this morning. the US State Department issues travel advisory levels for more than 200 countries globally, continually updating them based on a variety of risk indicators such as health, terrorism and civil unrest. Travel advisory levels range from Level 1, which means exercise normal precautions, to Level 4, which means do not travel. Nearly 20 countries, or about 10%, have a Level 4: “Do Not Travel” advisory as of Jan. 9. In Level 4 countries, the US government may have “very limited ability” to step in should travelers’ safety or security be at risk, according to the State Department.

 

Markets

European markets were higher as investors gear up for more inflation data this week, with US consumer price data for December due Thursday. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was up 0.5%, with most sectors and major bourses posting gains. Mining stocks saw the largest uptick, up 1.6%, while insurance led minor losses, down 0.6%. Stock futures were slightly higher early morning as Wall Street looked to build on what has been a positive start to 2023 so far. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked up 22 points, or 0.06%. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures were little changed. The moves come after the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.01% yesterday to clinch its first three-day winning streak since November. The S&P 500 and Dow rose 0.70% and 0.56%, respectively, and all three averages are positive for the young year.

 

Main Economic Data/Central Banks/Government (All Times CET)

8:00 a.m.: Turkey Nov. Current Account Balance
9:00 a.m.: Czech Republic Dec. CPI
9:35 a.m.: ECB’s Holzmann speaks
10:00 a.m.: Italy Nov. Retail Sales
11:00 a.m.: ECB’s Villeroy speaks
12:00 p.m.: Portugal Dec. CPI
3:00 p.m.: ECB’s Rehn speaks
4:30 p.m.: EIA US crude oil inventories
5:00 p.m. Russia weekly CPI
8:15 p.m.: ECB’s de Cos speaks

 

Corporate Events

Earnings include KB Home, Qatar National Bank

 

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