Summary:
- US stock markets have hit another all-time high
- USD near 3-month high as Fed reshuffles some more
- Oil hits 2017 peak on Saudi tensions
- Bitcoin drops as other Crypto rise
- USDCAD lower after Ivey PMI beats forecasts
It’s been a bright start to the week for US stock markets with the US500 breaking above last week’s high to trade up and into uncharted territory. The slow and steady rise seen in the world’s largest stock market has shown little sign it is close to ending and the volatility index remains at extremely low levels.
The US dollar has had a fairly quiet day with little by the way of economic releases. The only real fundamental development of note is news that NY Fed president Dudley will step down early after announcing plans to retire around the middle of 2018. Dudley is seen by many as a dove and his stepping down may lead to a hawkish shift which would be supportive of the US dollar.
The price of crude has surged higher once more today, with the market moving above its previous peak to hit a new 2017 high. In fact you have to go back to July 2015 to find a higher price in Brent, with news of an anti-corruption clampdown in Saudi Arabia which has seen 11 princes arrested the likely catalyst behind the move.
The past couple of weeks have seen some interesting moves in the crypto space with Bitcoin surging whilst the other 4 markets were pretty much flat. The reason for this is probably the news the CME will offer Bitcoin futures, further legitimising the market and seeing a surge of demand. Today, we’ve had a slight unwinding of this with Bitcoin the laggard and lower by more than 1% whilst the other crypto markets are all higher.
It’s been a relatively light afternoon in North America on the data front with the the biggest release the Canadian Ivey PMI which has surprised to the upside. A reading of 63.8 for the month of October represents the highest reading since January 2016 and is comfortably above the consensus forecast (60.2) and the prior reading (59.6). The USDCAD pair fell following the release and is heading back towards last week’s low at the time of writing.