This is a syndicated repost published with the permission of Confounded Interest – Online Course Notes for Financial Markets. To view original, click here. Opinions herein are not those of the Wall Street Examiner or Lee Adler. Reposting does not imply endorsement. The information presented is for educational or entertainment purposes and is not individual investment advice.
At least the US Federal Reserve has been raising its target rate, albeit slowly, to 1.5%, The European Central Bank (ECB) has left its main refinancing rate at 0% since early 2016. And Bank of Japan’s key interest rate is negative. Of the three central banks, only the US Federal Reserve is raising rates.
The impact of the ECB’s decision to keep their key rate at 0% (a TRUE zero interest rate policy [ZIRP]) is that now 18 European countries have negative two year sovereign yields.
The USDEUR cross is tumbling.
As in the USDJPY cross.
The most priceless quotes of the day came from US Treasury Secretary Steven Munchkin and the ECB head Mario Draghi:
Mr. Draghi attributed some of the euro’s recent gains to “the use of language that doesn’t reflect the terms of reference that have been agreed.” He warned at a press conference that such language violated longstanding international agreements designed to prevent currency wars.
Draghi is upset that Munchkin said that a weak dollar benefits US trade?? What planet has Draghi been living on?
Join the conversation and have a little fun at Capitalstool.com. If you are a new visitor to the Stool, please register and join in! To post your observations and charts, and snide, but good-natured, comments, click here to register. Be sure to respond to the confirmation email which is sent instantly. If not in your inbox, check your spam filter.