Alton Drew

Reading the shift …

Category: China

Interbank Market News Scan: China tightens regulations on foreign exchange market….

Posted by on in central banks, China, foreign exchangeLeave a comment

5 September 2021

Interbank. Chinese officials to tighten foreign exchange market supervision. https://www.forexlive.com/centralbank/!/chinese-officials-to-tighten-foreign-exchange-market-supervision-20210905

Interbank. Nigeria. Naira. Former Deputy Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN), Dr Obadaiah Melafia weekend attributed the dip of the naira in the foreign exchange market to the bad policies of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration and the tensions across the country. “Nigeria is a failed state.” https://www.vanguardngr.com/2021/09/dip-of-naira-in-foreign-exchange-market-due-to-buharis-bad-policies-mailafia-alleges/

Interbank. Forex. So what fundamentals are impacting the foreign exchange markets? https://finance.yahoo.com/news/introduction-major-fundamental-influences-forex-080046373.html

Interbank. India. India’s management of foreign exchange reserves results in supporting 18 months of imports. https://www.deccanherald.com/opinion/panorama/management-of-foreign-exchange-reserves-1026066.html

Interbank. Russia. Russia’s central bank provides alternative economic forecast for the next 18 months; one of a severe down-turn vs. moderate inflation. https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2021/09/03/world-economy-could-face-2008-meltdown-russias-central-bank-warns-a74962

Interbank. Brazil. Digital real. The Central Bank of Brazil is still studying the creation of a Digital Real, according to statements given by Fabio Araujo, a representative of the institution. https://news.bitcoin.com/central-bank-of-brazil-researches-creation-of-digital-real/

Interbank. Dollar Index. As of 10:33 pm EST, the Yahoo Market Watch Dollar Index was at 92.16. https://www.marketwatch.com/investing/index/dxy/charts?mod=mw_quote_tab

Central bank decisions as of 5 September 2021, 11:25 pm EST

AUD/USD 0.7437

As of 11:01 pm EST, no Reserve Bank of Australia decisions impacting rates.

NZD/USD 0.7137

As of 11:13 pm EST, no Reserve Bank of New Zealand decisions impacting rates.

USD/JPY 109.8100

As of 11:20 pm EST, no Bank of Japan decisions impacting rates.

USD/CNY

As of 11:24 pm EST, no People’s Bank of China decisions impacting rates.

For a consultation on any regulatory or legislative discussions or announcements, please reach out to us at altondrew@altondrew.com for information on consultation rates and to reserve an appointment.

Please support my efforts by making a donation via PayPal or visiting our advertisers.

Alton Drew

Interbank Market News Scan: Dollar, yuan see similar price increases in terms of Asian currencies. Euro has to play catch up.

Posted by on in China, Europe, Federal Reserve, foreign exchangeLeave a comment

25 August 2021

As US Vice-President Kamala Harris wraps up her Asia tour this week, I was curious to see how currency prices have moved since the Biden-Harris administration took office on 20 January 2021.  I see a battle for currency preference between the United States, the Eurozone, and China and so far, seven months into the Biden-Harris administration, the Eurozone is being left behind.

Where the dollar, the yuan, and the euro are priced in terms of the ringgit, Indian rupee, and the yen, the yuan has seen the greatest price increase since 20 January 2021.  For example, during the period 20 January 2021 to 25 August 2021, USD/JPY increased 6%; USD/MYR increased 4%, and the USD/INR increased 1.8% for an average of 3.93%.

During the same period, the CNY/JPY increased 6%; CNY/MYR increased 14%; and the CNY/INR increased 1.6% for an average of 7.2%.

Meanwhile, the euro got the least love with EUR/JPY increasing 2.9%; EUR/MYR relatively flat at 0.008%; and EUR/INR decreasing by 1.29%.  Using this bucket of Asian currencies, average euro increase is around .54%

In the immediate run, I don’t see dollar or euro prices in terms of the ringgit, yen, or Indian rupee increasing especially if Asian economies are somehow able to increase their respective economies productive capacities and increase trade with each other, taking advantage of their resource-rich environments.  The Harris-Biden administration’s fall in polling numbers as a result of perceived mismanagement of American withdrawal from Afghanistan and less than stellar campaign to get more of the American population vaccinated may likely weigh on the effectiveness of Ms Harris’ attempt to garner strategic trading partners in the region.  

Alton Drew

 For a consultation on any regulatory or legislative discussions or announcements, please reach out to us at altondrew@altondrew.com for information on consultation rates and to reserve an appointment.

 Foreign exchange rates of interest as of 10:20 am EST

Currency PairFederal ReserveReuters
AUS/USD0.71330.7254
USD/BRL5.39905.2419
USD/CAD1.28531.2623
USD/CNY6.50126.4771
USD/DKK6.36126.3337
EUR/USD1.16901.1739
USD/HKD7.78977.7840
USD/INR74.350074.2250
USD/JPY109.7700109.9300
NZD/USD0.68300.6949
USD/MYR4.23854.2020
Sources: Federal Reserve, Reuters

Interbank Market News Scan: Waiting for Jackson Hole while Kamala Harris attempts to keep the US out of a global trading hole.

Posted by on in China, Federal Reserve, foreign exchangeLeave a comment

24 August 2021

The Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium, hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, is set to begin on 26 August 2021 with oral and written presentations focused on macroeconomic policy in an uneven economy.  Federal Reserve Board chairman Jerome Powell will make a presentation on 27 August.

Since the Federal Reserve released its minutes of the 27-28 July Federal Open Market Committee meeting, the biggest buzz has been speculation s to when the Federal Reserve would begin easing back on its $120 billion per month purchases of agency mortgage-backed securities and U.S. Treasury securities.  These purchases have been instrumental in keeping interest rates low during the Covid-19 pandemic with the intent of spurring business spending and investment, sustaining consumer demand, and maintaining certainty in the financial markets.

The minutes from the FOMC meeting has hinted at a possibility of Fed asset purchases tapering off as early as the end of this year and upward pressure on interest rates, especially in the longer-term range, is expected.

Meanwhile, U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris today heads to Vietnam as part of the second leg of a four-day tour of Asia.  Ms Harris’ primary mission appears to include not only the building of relationships with certain Asian countries, but to let Asian countries know that they have an economic partner alternative to China.

China’s Belt and Road Initiative throughout Asia as well as its claims on the South China Sea through which trillions in dollars of commercial trade passes through poses an economic threat to the United States.  Unless the US can pose itself as a reliable economic trading partner to Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, and Taiwan, amongst other nations, then the United States may be locked out of the Asian markets or forced to buy and sell goods and services in the region on onerous terms.

Ms Harris has been making the argument that China’s efforts in the South China Sea are illegal under international law.

For a consultation on any regulatory or legislative discussions or announcements, please reach out to us at altondrew@altondrew.com for information on consultation rates and to reserve an appointment.

Foreign exchange rates of interest as of 9:00 am EST

Currency PairFederal ReserveReutersOANDA
AUS/USD0.71330.72430.7184
USD/BRL5.39905.37895.3793
USD/CAD1.28531.26181.2718
USD/CNY6.50126.47726.4833
USD/DKK6.36126.33596.3399
EUR/USD1.16901.17351.1728
USD/HKD7.78977.78787.7912
USD/INR74.190074.194074.0634
USD/JPY109.7700109.6700109.8400
NZD/USD0.68300.69490.6867
USD/MYR4.23854.21704.2265
Source: Federal Reserve, Reuters, OANDA

Interbank Market News Scan: As Afghanistan transitions, currency traders should wait for dust to settle in light of China’s influence …

Posted by on in Afghanistan, China, foreign exchangeLeave a comment

15 August 2021

Currency pairExchange rate10-year yield, government securities
AFN/CNY0.07982.88
AFN/USD0.012331.28
Source: OANDA

The transition of political power occurring in Afghanistan today should have traders and brokers asking about the currency trade opportunities under a Taliban-led Afghanistan.  The price of the Afghani has been falling in both US dollars and Chinese renminbi over the last 90 days.  I suspect as Afghanistan moves through its transition over the next 48 hours that western investors will wait for the dust to settle on where yields Afghani-denominated securities will fall out.

After two decades in Afghanistan, the lightening quick deterioration in the ability of the government to maintain control of its territory speaks negatively about the United States as a stabilizing force in the region.  That accolade right now may belong more in China’s court than the U.S.  China has stayed engaged with Afghanistan primarily due to three concerns.

First, the protection of small and medium sized Chinese enterprises in Afghanistan; second, to stop the training of Uygur supporting insurgents from an area of Afghanistan that lies along China’s western border; and third, to maintain a vital component of its Belt and Road Initiative, a policy of transportation and communications infrastructure that facilitates the transfer of resources to China.

China is Afghanistan’s largest investor, having provided Afghanistan with telecom equipment and other telecom infrastructure.  China extracts oil in the Amu Daya basin, and also mines lithium and copper, both essential to providing telecommunications equipment and facilities.

Geographically, Afghanistan provides China with the shortest route between China, the Middle East, the Persian Gulf, and the Arabian Sea, important for cost effective movement of trade.

And because China has shown no interest in “rebuilding Afghanistan”, including altering its political, social, or ideological institutions, it has been able to maintain a dialogue with the Taliban, important now more than ever as Afghanistan sees a change in leadership.

The takeaway:  Traders should monitor the developing government relationships and take note of relative changes in income, prices, commodity availability, and interest rates.

Alton Drew

Sources:

OANDA

China to ‘capitalise’ on West’s Taliban failure as US geopolitical power diminished | World | News | Express.co.uk 

Why China and Russia might find common security ground in Afghanistan | South China Morning Post (scmp.com)

Slowly but surely, China is moving into Afghanistan (trtworld.com)

For a consultation on any regulatory or legislative discussions or announcements, please reach out to us at altondrew@altondrew.com for information on consultation rates and to reserve an appointment.

Interbank Market News Scan: How will G7, NATO impact China-Caribbean trade relationship; foreign exchange …

Posted by on in banks, Caribbean, China, foreign exchangeLeave a comment

15 June 2021

News from the Eastern Caribbean Securities Exchange

On 28 June 2021, the Government of St. Lucia will auction a 180-day Treasury bill estimated to raise ECS$10 million.  The Bank of St. Lucia and First Citizens Investment Services are the broker firms.

Food for Thought: On China and the Caribbean

The NATO and G7 meetings held one thing in common other than the membership of a number of rich industrialized countries: China.  While the NATO meeting fell short of calling China an “adversary”, the consensus, especially among the leading industrialized nations, is that China, at a minimum, is a competitive economic threat.

One example of its economic threat is Huawei, a Chinese telecom equipment provider accused of ties to the Chinese military.  Huawei provided less expensive telecom equipment to Europe in direct competition with American telecom equipment providers.  The United States, which banned use of Huawei equipment from its telecom networks, chided its European allies for allowing a threat to privacy via Huawei equipment.  Turning a back on Huawei expectedly gives US companies a wider door to enter through into European markets.

It may be too early to determine the impact on the Caribbean a widening rift between China and the US may present.  By our estimate, using CIA data, at least 12 Caribbean countries have a trading relationship (import only, export only, or both) with China.  Whether the Caribbean will tack away from a relationship with China as a result of moves made by the G7 or NATO remains to be seen.

 Import-Export relationship between CARICOM nations and China

Source: CIA World Factbook

CountryImport from ChinaExport to China
St. LuciaNoNo
Trinidad and TobagoYes (USD366 million)Yes (USD595 million)
SurinameYes (USD168 million)No
St. Vincent and the GrenadinesYes (USD23.7 million)No
MontserratNoNo
GuyanaYes (USD8 million)No
GrenadaYes (USD16 million)No
DominicaYes (USD12 million)No
BelizeYes (USD11 million)No
BarbadosYes (USD136 million)No
Antigua and BarbudaYes (USD39 million)No
The BahamasNoYes (USD33 million)
Cayman IslandsNoNo
HaitiYes (USD795 million)No
St. Kitts and NevisNoNo
JamaicaYes (USD804 million)No
British Virgin IslandsNoNo
Turks and CaicosNoNo
BermudaNoNo
AnguillaNoNo

Foreign exchange rates of interest

Source: OANDA

Currency PairsRates as of 11:15 am AST 15 June 2021
XCD/EUR0.3057
XCD/GBP0.2625
XCD/USD0.3704
XCD/CAD0.4500
XCD/NGN152.3900
XCD/CNY2.3692
XCD/PLN1.3776
XCD/PEN1.43619

Links to follow ….

Caribbean Development. A high-level panel of government and business leaders will explore the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Caribbean in the opening seminar of the Caribbean Development Bank’s (CDB) 51st Annual Meeting. https://www.caribank.org/newsroom/news-and-events/cdb-annual-meeting-seminar-discuss-policies-economic-recovery-covid-19-and-more-resilient-caribbean

Interbank. China’s interbank treasury bond index in net price opened at 982.99 points Tuesday, lower than the previous close of 983.65 points, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System. http://www.china.org.cn/china/Off_the_Wire/2021-06/15/content_77568539.htm

Interbank. The Korea Interbank Offered Rates (KORIBOR) as posted by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news and information arm of Yonhap News Agency, at 11:00 a.m. https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20210615004100320

Banks. Billionaire investor Mark Cuban is very bullish on the future of DeFi, or decentralized finance, and DAOs, or decentralized autonomous organizations. https://www.cnbc.com/2021/06/14/mark-cuban-banks-should-be-scared-of-defi.html

Interbank Market News Scan: Payments, remittances; Banks increasing hiring in Hong Kong

Posted by on in banks, China, Eastern Caribbean, foreign exchange, payment systemLeave a comment

Links you should follow ….

Interbank. China Development Bank has issued US$2bn of domestic US dollar bonds in China’s interbank market, its first such issuance in six years, according to a statement on its website. https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/cdb-prints-first-domestic-usd-bonds-in-six-years-2021-06-04

Interbank. The People’s Bank of China, the central bank, has urged commercial banks to abandon the London Interbank Offered Rate for dollar-denominated loans having a floating-rate benchmark. http://global.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202106/03/WS60b82ddca31024ad0bac34a6.html Remittances. Moroccans residing abroad (MREs) have sent back nearly $3.3 billion (MAD 28.8 billion) in remittances in the first four months of the year.  https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2021/06/342716/morocco-sees-45-3-increase-in-remittances-in-first-quarter-of-2021

Banks. The pace of interest rate hikes by emerging market central banks slowed in May as policy makers in developing nations face uneven economic recoveries from the COVID-19 pandemic.  https://www.reuters.com/article/emerging-rates/graphic-grinding-higher-emerging-market-central-banks-raise-rates-in-may-idUSL5N2NM29S

Banks. If you’ve looked at your savings account statement recently, you may have noticed a lower interest rate than you were expecting. Perhaps as low as 0.06%. This is not a typo. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesfinancecouncil/2021/06/04/why-digital-banks-offer-higher-interest-rates-on-savings-accounts/?sh=325769ed6ccc

Banks. Some global banks, funds and other financial services providers say they are stepping up hiring in Hong Kong, in a sign the city’s unique position as a financial gateway to China is outweighing concerns about Beijing’s tightening grip over it. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/banks-bulk-up-hong-kong-china-business-overshadows-politics-2021-06-03/

Payment systems. The United States’ restaurant delivery marketplace seems like a complex tangle of emerging and incumbent delivery services, technological platforms and payment methods, but it has nothing on Europe’s. https://www.pymnts.com/restaurant-innovation/2021/limonetik-on-how-payment-methods-can-make-or-break-food-marketplaces-international-expansion/

Payment systems. Russia’s central bank governor, Elvira Nabiullina, has said for CNBC that digital currencies will be the future of financial systems, as the economy moves online. https://thepaypers.com/payments-general/the-digital-rouble-could-help-russia-bypass-the-swift-banking-payment-system–1249437

Foreign exchange rates of interest, 30-day trading range; 5 May 2021 to 4 June 2021

Source: OANDA

Currency PairsRates as of 11:20 am AST 4 June 2021Rates as of 10:30 am AST 5 May 2021Percentage Change
XCD/EUR0.30340.3085-1.7%
XCD/GBP0.26190.2664-1.7%
XCD/USD0.37040.3704flat
XCD/CAD0.44730.4548-1.6%
TTD/EUR0.11910.1206-1.2%
TTD/GBP0.10230.1041-1.7%
TTD/USD0.14490.1448flat
TTD/CAD0.17500.1778-1.6%
GYD/EUR0.00380.0038flat
GYD/GBP0.00330.0033flat
GYD/USD0.00460.0046flat
GYD/CAD0.00560.0056flat

For the period 5 May 2021 to 4 June 2021, the Eastern Caribbean saw a continued fall in exchange rates between the European Union (-1.7%); Great Britain (-1.7%); and Canada (-1.6%).  The XCD is pegged to the U.S. dollar and for that reason remained flat.

The Trinidad and Tobago dollar saw its price fall over the same period in terms of the euro (-1.2%); the pound (-1.7%); and the Canadian dollar (-1.6%).  The U.S. dollar price for the TTD remained flat over that period.

The euro, dollar, pound, and loonie rate of the Guyanese dollar remained flat during the 5 May 2021-4 June 2021 period.

Interbank Market News Scan: China is graying and will need to revamp its demographic policies ….

Posted by on in bitcoin, Canada, central banks, ChinaLeave a comment

Links to follow today ….

Central banks, China. A pension deficit and looming debt crisis driven by a rapidly greying population. That’s the nightmare scenario for Chinese authorities, including the nation’s central bank, who are increasingly worried about the financial implications of the country’s demographic challenges. China population: what’s driving central bank concern about the nation’s ageing workforce? | South China Morning Post (scmp.com)

Central banks, CBDCs. The proposed authoritarian evolution of centrally issued digital currencies takes the world closer to dystopia. Central Bank Digital Currencies And The Orwellian New World Order | Nasdaq

Central banks, bitcoin. Billionaire investor Mike Novogratz said Thursday the surge in cryptocurrencies is serving as a referendum on the perceived ability of the Federal Reserve to manage risks facing the world’s largest economy and suggested people continue to buy into bitcoin. Billionaire investor Mike Novogratz says the record-breaking rally in crypto shows a lack of faith in the Fed – and cites central-bank uncertainty as a reason for bitcoin’s latest surge (msn.com)

Central banks, Bank of Canada. The Bank of Canada sent out a warning to investors this week that inflation still matters. In a surprise move, it accelerated the timetable for a possible interest-rate increase and began paring back its bond purchases on Wednesday. That made Canada the first major economy to signal its intent to reduce emergency levels of monetary stimulus. Inflation Forces the Bank of Canada’s Hand Ahead of Fed and ECB (msn.com)

As we enter a new week, the rates to start your day ….

As of 11:30 am EST, Bloomberg reports that the yield on the three-month Treasury note closed at 0.02% last Friday while the two-year note closed at 0.16%. The ten-year and thirty-year Treasurys closed Friday at 1.56% and 2.23%, respectively.

The Federal Funds rate, the rate at which banks lend to each other overnight in support of their reserve requirements, is at .07%, while the Fed Funds target rate is still at .25%. The prime lending rate is 3.25%.

Exchange rates of interest as of 5:30 pm EST….

Currency PairsRates as of 5:30 pm EST 25 April 2021
EUR/USD1.1890
GBP/USD1.3718
USD/CAD1.2568
AUD/USD0.7625
USD/JPY108.0210
USD/NOK8.5402
USD/CHF0.9417
USD/SEK8.7274
USD/MEX20.5078
Source: OANDA

Interbank market news scan: Should the US be concerned about falling behind the “digital currency curve?” Bitcoin, Ethereum prices fall …

Posted by on in bitcoin, China, cryptocurrency, decentralized finance, ethereumLeave a comment

News you should be following. Follow the links …

China’s rapid development of its sovereign digital currency, the so-called digital yuan, is causing the United States to worry that it could fall behind in the race for financial technology innovation, analysts said. China digital currency: US ‘worried’ as it falls ‘behind the curve’ in race for financial innovation (koreatimes.co.kr)

Trading was muted overnight while markets await the latest views from central banks. The US Federal Reserve, the Bank of Japan and the Bank of England headline a cattle call of central banks due to deliver interest rate decisions this week. Markets stall ahead of Fed | CMC Markets

The US dollar is gaining ground on the other major currencies as the foreign exchange market reacts to rising Treasury yields. The prospect of inflation continues to dominate investors’ minds, as all the conditions appear to be in place for a massive rebound in economic activity that is likely to cause consumer prices to spike. Daily market commentary: The foreign exchange market reacts to rising Treasury yields (leaprate.com)

Despite banking services becoming increasingly digital and accessible through mobile devices, there are still 1.7 billion adults without an account at a financial institution. Although The World Bank’s 2017 report confirms some improvement in this regard, only 300 million individuals succeeded in overcoming this hurdle between 2014 and 2017. At this rate, the imbalance of financial access will remain a pressing problem for some time to come. DeFi Is the New Lemonade Stand (yahoo.com)

In 2021 the modern economic landscape is already beginning to shift. The growth of cryptocurrencies and decentralized finance (DeFi) has been a part of the discussion for years, but the reality of how it will impact securities trading is finally being realized. An increasing number of securities are now digitized, underpinned by distributed ledger technology (DLT) that provides the necessary tools that allow for faster, cheaper and ultimately more secure markets, regardless of asset type. The Rise of Digital Securities | Nasdaq

Cryptocurrency exchange rates as of 11:45 pm EST 16 March 2021 …

BTC/USD=55,332.10 ETH/USD=1,767.68

BTC/EUR=46,430.60 ETH/EUR=1,482.99

BTC/GBP=39,875.10 ETH/GBP=1,273.88

BTC/AUD=71,447.80 ETH/AUD=2,282.53

BTC/CAD=68,972.00 ETH/CAD=2,203.43

BTC/CHF=51,241.80 ETH/CHF=1,637.01

BTC/JPY=6,035,080.00 ETH/JPY=192,801.00

BTC/CNY=359,694.00 ETH/CNY=11,491.10

Source: OANDA

Interbank market scan: China’s interbank market rate drops; Bitcoin sees a little deceleration …

Posted by on in China, decentralized finance, India, interbank marketLeave a comment

Links to news you should be following …

India’s foreign-exchange reserves surpassed Russia’s to become the world’s fourth largest, as the South Asian nation’s central bank continues to hoard dollars to cushion the economy against any sudden outflows. India FX Reserves Cross Russia to Become World’s 4th Biggest – Bloomberg

Currency tensions and currency crises are a side effect of many countries failing to manage in the new round of economic globalization that has taken place through increasing flows of multilateral trade and investments that have created a world of currency trades causing economies to depend on global reserve currencies, mainly the US Dollar. Science against Myth (msn.com)

During the past month, the total value locked (TVL) in the Bancor Protocol has more than doubled, surpassing the $1.6 billion mark. Bancor, which serves as a liquidity protocol that enables automated, decentralized exchange, reveals that it managed to break into the top 10 projects in terms of TVL and now generates “the fifth highest revenue” of any protocol on Ethereum (as of March 13, 2021). decentralized finance – Bing News

To add more value to the network’s end-users and keep FinNexus at the industry’s cutting edge, its team has been working extremely hard to introduce new features. FinNexus has been developing its ecosystem on all fronts, expanding an established partnership with ChainLink, striving to add a new decentralized product, and introducing an algorithmic stablecoin-based liquidity pool to its platform.  FinNexus developments take its decentralized options platform to the next level | KnowTechie

The overnight Shanghai Interbank Offered Rate (Shibor), which measures the borrowing cost of China’s interbank market, fell 10.5 basis points to 2.14 percent Tuesday.China’s overnight Shibor interbank rate falls Tuesday – Xinhua | English.news.cn (xinhuanet.com)

Cryptocurrency exchange rates as of 8:35 am EST …

BTC/USD=57,494.80 ETH/USD=1,792.44

BTC/EUR=48,177.40 ETH/EUR=1,501.96

BTC/GBP=41,325.00 ETH/GBP=1,288.34

BTC/AUD=74,221.30 ETH/AUD=2,313.90

BTC/CAD=71,715.70 ETH/CAD=2,235.79

BTC/CHF=53,398.50 ETH/CHF=1,664.74

BTC/JPY=6,274,470.00 ETH/JPY=195,611.00

BTC/CNY=373,759.00 ETH/CNY=11,652.20

Source: OANDA

Interbank market scan as of 11:03 am AST: Central banks, foreign exchange

Posted by on in China, cryptocurrency, foreign exchange, interbank marketLeave a comment
Currency pairsExchange Rate as of 11:07am AST 28 January 2021Exchange Rate as of 12:10 pm AST 29 January 2021
AUD/USD0.76810.7695
USD/CAD1.27741.2766
USD/CNY6.48226.4291
EUR/USD1.21181.2148
USD/INR73.050072.8335
GBP/USD1.37151.3722
USD/JPY104.0600104.7100
USD/MXN20.700020.2232
USD/DKK6.15546.1206
USD/NOK8.62428.5291
Source: Reuters

The Chinese yuan exhibited increased strength against the U.S. dollar. This may be due in part to decision of the People’s Bank of China to be more hawkish on interest rates and modifying the interbank market rate of the yuan to reflect tightening liquidity. (See links to two articles below).

News from the federal government …

Yesterday, the White House released the following statement addressing a call between members of the National Security Council and the European Commission:

“National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan spoke by phone today with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s Head of Cabinet Bjoern Seibert. Mr. Sullivan underscored President Biden’s commitment to the transatlantic alliance and his intention to repair and revitalize the U.S.-EU partnership, including our trade and investment relationship. They discussed the importance of close U.S.-EU cooperation on the COVID-19 pandemic and global health security, as well as the global economic recovery and climate change. They also agreed to work together on issues of mutual concern, including China and Turkey.”

In other news: The markets ….

Julian Evans-Pritchard, Senior China Economist at Capital Economics suggests that the People Bank of China (PBOC) could be delivering a hawkish signal, in light of the recent surge in the interbank rates. PBOC: Surge in interbank rates is a hawkish signal – Capital Economics (fxstreet.com)

China’s yuan firmed on Thursday, as tight interbank liquidity heading into Lunar New Year pushed money markets rates higher, though gains were limited as a global stock market rout increased safe-harbour demand for assets like the dollar. China’s yuan inches up as tight liquidity pushes interbank rates higher | Nasdaq

Sweden’s central bank said it had agreed with the U.S. Federal Reserve to extend a $60 billion swap agreement signed during spring last year until Sept. 30 this year. Sweden’s Central Bank Extends Swap Arrangement With U.S. Federal Reserve | Investing News | US News

Bank of America was ringing alarm bells over equities on Friday, as it warned a correction is looming. Get ready for a 10% stock drop, driven by the 3 ‘Rs,’ warns Bank of America (msn.com)

The Central Bank of Nigeria plans to obtain all the necessary approvals required to start the operations of a proposed commodities exchange within the next 90 days, Governor Godwin Emefiele said on Thursday. Nigeria Commodities Exchange to Start in 90 Days to Help Stabilize Food Prices – Bloomberg

The value of Dogecoin, a joke cryptocurrency that launched back in 2013, hit record levels on Thursday. Its price rose by more than 800 percent, reaching around $0.082, which raised its market value to around $7 billion, according to Coindesk, which monitors cryptocurrency prices. Dogecoin Price Tracker, Update as Cryptocurrency Value Skyrockets (msn.com)

Robinhood has restricted trading in cryptocurrencies a day after blocking new purchases of 13 stocks amid “extraordinary market conditions,” the app said. Robinhood Blocks Cryptocurrency Trading, Blames ‘Extraordinary Market Conditions’ (msn.com)

“Guys,” he told them, “I don’t know if bitcoin goes lower next month, but I think over the course of time, bitcoin will be higher.” To be more exact, Denier predicts the cryptocurrency will surge to $US55,000 per coin by the end of 2021, a 70% increase from its current price of around $US32,200. Webull CEO Anthony Denier predicts Bitcoin will surge to $55,000 by the end of 2021. He told us why he’s bullish on the cryptocurrency long-term. (msn.com)