Forex news for February 24, 2015 US edition
- Fed's Yellen: Guidance change would mean liftoff possible at any meeting
- Yellen - Currency manipulation needs to be addressed
- US recovery looks to be on solid ground says Yellen
- Labour force participation reflects cyclical factors says Yellen
- Wrap up: Three subtle hints from Yellen at Humphrey Hawkins
- Poloz: Rate cut buys time to see how economy responds
- Poloz: BOC not interested in forward guidance now
- Richmond Fed Mftg Index Feb 0 vs 6 exp
- US consumer confidence index Feb 96.4 vs 99.5 exp
- Coene: ECB aware of the risk of creating bubbles
- Greek bailout extension approved by eurozone finance ministers
- Markit US composite PMI 56.8 vs 54.4 last month
- Case Schiller home price index rises by 0.87% MoM and 4.46% YoY
- Westpac recommends buying the pound
- Gold down $1 to $1200 after touching $1190
- WTI crude down 39-cents to $49.06
- S&P 500 up 6 points to record 2115
- CAD leads, NZD lags
The first headlines that crossed on Yellen confused the market. They appeared to say that liftoff was possible any time but that was a conditional commitment (more on exactly what happened here). The US dollar shot higher by 30-50 pips first then retraced in about 15 minutes and then continued lower from there.
In the end, Yellen didn't really say much. The best you can say is that she's priming the market for removing 'patient' by saying it doesn't necessarily mean a June hike. She also cited some risks and while the first hike probabilities might didn't change that much, the longer view points to a slower pace of hikes.
USD/JPY was the largest price move. It jumped to 119.85 then plunged all the way to 118.80 over the subsequent hours.
That was partly a reflection of broad yen strength. On the whole, most of the market was unchanged on the entire trading day.
The exception was the loonie as it surged as Poloz took a wait and see stance ahead of next week's BOC meeting. The market was slow to pick it up but the loonie rallied steadily afterwards
