Education

Macro & Central Banks· page 2

26 articles

How central banks steer the currency market: interest rates, inflation, and monetary policy explained from the ground up. What each concept means, why it moves the majors, and how a trader reads it.

The dollar smile: why does the dollar rise on both fear and strength?
EducationMacro & Central Banks

The dollar smile: why does the dollar rise on both fear and strength?

This week the dollar fell on soft inflation, then jumped on war and a tech selloff — down on calm, up on fear. That isn't a contradiction; it's a shape called the dollar smile. Here's the framework, not just the news.

JUL/18/20263 min read
When Safe Havens Disagree: How to Read the Risk-Off Hierarchy in FX?
MacroMacro & Central Banks

When Safe Havens Disagree: How to Read the Risk-Off Hierarchy in FX?

A firm Dollar, a stalling Yen and a sliding gold price reveal how the safe-haven hierarchy really works — and the three questions that decide which haven leads.

JUN/23/20263 min read
Why Does a Hawkish Fed Crush Gold? The Real-Yield Link, Explained
EducationMacro & Central Banks

Why Does a Hawkish Fed Crush Gold? The Real-Yield Link, Explained

Gold just had its worst month in years while the Fed turned hawkish. The link between the two has a name — real yields — and it is the most important number gold traders ignore.

JUN/30/20262 min read
What Happens to the Dollar When the Fed's Independence Is Questioned?
MacroMacro & Central Banks

What Happens to the Dollar When the Fed's Independence Is Questioned?

Central-bank independence is a currency's silent foundation. What happens to the dollar when that independence is called into doubt — and why gold reflects it instantly.

JUN/28/20262 min read
What is Jackson Hole, and why does it move currencies?
EducationMacro & Central Banks

What is Jackson Hole, and why does it move currencies?

The Economic Policy Symposium the Kansas City Fed has hosted in Wyoming since 1982 — how a farming conference became the stage where central banks trail policy shifts?, and what actually moves in forex when they do?

AUG/22/20266 min read
What are Treasury buybacks, and why did they sink the dollar?
EducationMacro & Central Banks

What are Treasury buybacks, and why did they sink the dollar?

The US Treasury bought back its own bonds, and the dollar fell to three-month lows without anyone touching the currency market. Here is the mechanism behind the Bessent put, and why it is not an intervention.

AUG/24/20266 min read
What does "following the money" mean in forex?
EducationMacro & Central Banks

What does "following the money" mean in forex?

The advice is good and almost everything sold under that name in forex cannot be seen. Spot has no central exchange, so there is no real volume and no tape. Here is the money you can actually follow: public, free and delayed.

AUG/15/20265 min read
De-dollarization: headline fashion or structural shift?
MacroMacro & Central Banks

De-dollarization: headline fashion or structural shift?

"De-dollarization" returns to the headlines every few months. Rabobank now lists it alongside cyclical drivers for the Dollar — so it is worth separating the slow structural story…

JUN/29/20262 min read

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