The Pound
has today (Monday) fallen to an all-time low against the US Dollar after Chancellor of the Exchequer, Kwasi Kwarteng, said more tax cuts are likely. Investors are worried this could stoke further inflation. GBPUSD fell to 1.0382 earlier although there has been a recovery back above 1.06 on hopes of emergency action by the Bank of England. A falling Pound is not all bad news – UK investors who hold overseas assets (for example in US Dollars) will benefit.
Equities
fell last week as investors remained focused on inflation concerns and worries about global recession.
US Federal Reserve
raised interest rates by 0.75%. Investors are now expecting further increases of another 0.75% in November and 0.5% in December. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said, “no one knows whether this process will lead to a recession or, if so, how significant that recession would be.”
US 10-year Treasury yield
rose above 3.9% today for the first time since April 2010.
Bank of England
raised interest rates by 0.5% to 2.25% last week and said that the UK may already be in a recession. The market thinks there could be a further, and previously unexpected, hike this week to support the Pound.
UK Gilts
sold-off at the end of last week and again today as investors tried to assess the extent of likely interest hikes by the Bank of England. UK 10-year yields rose above 4% for the first time since 2010.
Japanese Yen
has been falling all year against the US Dollar. On Thursday the Japanese Government began selling dollars and buying JPY in an attempt to prop up its currency for the first time in 24 years. The Bank of Japan, unlike other central banks, has not been raising interest rates.
UK Market Chart 23rd September 2022
US Market Chart 23rd September 2022
US Risk Barometer 23rd September 2022
Europe Risk Barometer 23rd September 2022
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