Meditate!! The February ISM Manufacturing Index came in at 47.70 (prev 47.4). The reading reflected contraction in manufacturing activity for the 4 th straight month. However, what stood out in the report was the sharp increase in the Prices Index which jumped to 51.3 from 44.5 and the new orders index rose to 47.0 (prev 42.50). The activity contracted at a slower pace amid a backdrop of rising prices which adds to fears around Fed tightening. Comments from FOMC voting member Neel Kashkari also pushed rates higher. “We’re not yet seeing much of a sign of our interest-rate increases slowing down the services sector of the economy and that is concerning to me,” he said. “Wage growth is at a level that it actually is too high to be consistent with our” 2% inflation target. He also said that if the Fed declares "victory too soon, there will be a flood of exuberance" and it will need to do even more work that if the Fed declares "victory too soon, there will be a flood...
The specific focus of the Blog is on Global and Domestic interest rates and currencies market. I look at fundamentals to define my bias and corroborate that with a study of price action to put on high conviction trades. The views and opinions are those of author and author alone. ~ Author: Vaishali Bagchi