- US November CPI +6.8% y/y vs +6.8% expected
- US U Mich December consumer sentiment 70.4 vs 67.1 expected
- Biden says he thinks inflation is at a peak
- US November budget deficit $191B vs $195B expected
- Baker Hughes oil rigs increase by 4 to 471 in the current week
- The latest South African covid numbers offer reason for omicron hope
- UK highlight vaccine immune escape with omicron
- Canada says all 87 confirmed omicron cases have been mild or asymptomatic
- UK Gov't Spokesperson: Some progress made on Northern Ireland Protocol
Markets:
- Gold up $7 to $1781
- US 10-year yields flat at 1.487%
- WTI crude up $1.07 to $72.02
- S&P 500 up 43 to 4710 -- closing record
- GBP leads, CAD lags
The market was on edge ahead of the US CPI report after some read Thursday comments from Biden as tipping off a high CPI reading. Instead, the numbers were in-line with the consensus .That led to a sigh of relief, particularly in equities.
The US dollar also fell in the initial reaction, around 30-40 pips across the board. Much of that was erased in the next hour but fresh dollar selling kicked off into the London close, particularly in GBP. I suspect flows but others point to some good signs on Brexit talks.
Overall, it wasn't a particularly wild trading day, given the price action recently. The market is still watching omicron closely and evaluating the risks. The Fed is also a concern but the late rally in stocks on Friday shows that a taper alone isn't going to spoil the party. At the same time, the concentration in the rally in the biggest tech stocks is remarkable and alarming.
The loonie was somewhat of an underperformer on Friday and that's a tough one to pin down. Oil an gas prices were both firmer to end the week. There are some strong words being exchanged about US EV manufacturing subsidies in the Build Back Better package and that could be a reason.
Have a great weekend and thanks for bearing with us as we roll out the new website.
