Market News and Economic Events Update 04, Aug

Asia Central Banks Deploy Foreign Exchange Reserves to Lift Currencies – Bloomberg

Asia’s emerging economies are drawing on their vast foreign exchange reserves to help prop up their ailing currencies against the US dollar rather than going all-out with interest-rate hikes. Meanwhile, the inversion of the Treasury yield curve deepened Wednesday as the market proved volatile once again.

Australia’s Trade Surplus Swells to Fresh Record in Boost to GDP

Australia’s trade surplus hit a fresh record high, driven by strong prices of key exports from grains to metals and gold, in a result that’s likely to boost second-quarter gross domestic product.

The surplus swelled to A$17.7 billion ($12.3 billion) in June, surpassing economists’ estimate of A$14 billion, Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed on Thursday. Exports jumped 5%, while imports rose 1% as more Australian holidaymakers traveled overseas.

US Dollar climbs as Fed officials suggest more rate hikes to come

The dollar was on the front foot on Thursday, helped by several U.S. Federal Reserve officials pushing back against suggestions they will slow the pace of interest rate hikes, while the pound was flat ahead of a Bank of England meeting.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six peers, was steady in early trade at 106.39 having eked out small gains overnight. It is up around 0.5 per cent this week, reversing the trend of the previous two weeks.

Clarida Returns to Pimco After Fed Cleared Him in Trading Probe

Former Federal Reserve Vice Chair Richard Clarida will return to bond giant Pacific Investment Management Co. as global economic adviser following his exit from the central bank in January and the conclusion of an internal Fed probe into his personal trading, which found that he hadn’t broken any rules.

At the Fed, Clarida — who’s considered a pioneer in modern monetary economics — worked closely with Chair Jerome Powell in devising the new framework for policy that was published in August 2020.

Economic Events