The MUFG Global Markets Podcast

Will USD/JPY continue to fall ahead of Fed & BoJ policy meetings?

Lee Hardman, Senior Currency Analyst, and Abdul-Ahad Lockhart, Currency Analyst, discuss the impact on USD/JPY from the upcoming BoJ and Fed policy meetings. USD/JPY has dropped this week as BoJ rate hike expectations have intensified, but will it continue?  

How have fiscal concerns been impacting GBP & JPY performance?

Lee Hardman, Senior Currency Analyst, and Seiko Kataoka-Fisher, Director from Japanese Customer Sales for EMEA in London, discuss the pound’s reaction to the UK budget. If the yen continues to weaken will it encourage the BoJ to bring forward rate hike plans?  

Japan and UK fiscal challenges in focus

Following the supplementary budget announced in Japan on Friday, Derek Halpenny, Head of Research Global Markets EMEA & International Securities sits down with Jack Greenslade in Corporate FX Sales to discuss the details of the package what it means for JGB issuance plans going forward and the possible impact on JGB yields and the yen. Looking ahead of next week Derek and Jack discuss the UK budget announcement scheduled for Wednesday 26th November and what will be key for Gilts and the pound.

Will the GBP continue to underperform?

Lee Hardman, Senior Currency Analyst, speaks with Simon Mayes, Head of UK, Ireland and Switzerland Corporate Sales (FX), to discuss what has been driving the GBP sell-off over the past week. Is the recent GBP weakness likely to continue heading into next year?

BoE policy outlook, the UK budget and FX and Rates implications

This week Derek Halpenny, Head of Research Global Markets EMEA & International Securities is joined by Henry Cook, Europe Economist to discuss the implications of the BoE MPC monetary policy decision this week. Henry and Derek discuss the key takeaways from the meeting and the financial market impact on rates and the pound. The upcoming budget implications are also discussed. The budget is crucial both from a political and markets perspective. The outlook for ECB monetary policy and MUFG’s ECB policy and euro forecasts are also outlined.

Will the yen sell-off continue after latest BoJ driven sell-off?

Lee Hardman, Senior Currency Analyst, and Jack Greenslade, Deputy Head | UK, Ireland, Swiss and Middle East Corporate Sales, discuss what’s next for the yen after it was by far the worst performing G10 currency in October. The pound has also underperformed alongside the yen recently, will this continue ahead of BoE’s upcoming policy meeting?    

October 2025 FOMC Preview QT out, flexible reserves in… (Podcast Edition)

George Goncalves, Head of Macro Strategy for the Americas, shares our latest macro perspectives in light of the government shutdown and ongoing updates to US trade policy. However, the main focus was on the teams expectations for the upcoming FOMC meeting. In addition to expecting a 25bp cut, with reserves continuing to shrink and Chair Powell signaling that the Fed may be approaching the end of its quantitative tightening (QT) program, George believes this meeting could serve as a platform to begin mapping out a path to conclude QT by year-end.

US-Japan relations in focus in key week ahead for JPY

This week Derek Halpenny, Head of Research Global Markets EMEA & International Securities sits down to talk to Shan Husain in FI FX Sales about the outlook for rates and FX ahead of a busy week. In Japan PM Sanae Takaichi’s speech in the Diet signals fiscal expansion. President Trump will be in Tokyo and then we also have the BoJ meeting on Thursday, following the FOMC meeting on Wednesday. The softer CPI print today leaves the Fed well placed to cut. Derek also discusses the implications for the pound after weaker than expected inflation data this week.
 

How have political & trade risks impacted the FX market?

Lee Hardman, Senior Currency Analyst, speaks with Simon Mayes, Head of UK, Ireland and Switzerland Corporate Sales (FX), to discuss what has been driving a weaker USD over the past week. How important have political and trade risks been for FX market performance?

Political uncertainty driving FX market and gold price?

Lee Hardman, Senior Currency Analyst, and Abdul-Ahad Lockhart, Currency Analyst, discuss how the latest political developments in France and Japan are impacting the FX market. Heightened uncertainty has helped to lift the price of gold to fresh highs above USD4000/ounce, how have FX rates performed during periods of rising gold prices?

Will MAS ease in October?

After easing twice this year, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) kept its policy unchanged in July. Since then, inflation has eased and export momentum is showing signs of weakness. The big question on everyone’s mind is whether MAS will ease again in October?  Lloyd Chan, Senior Currency Analyst with the MUFG Global Markets Asia Research team talks to Jamie Tsukakoshi, Head of FX Sales, Global Clients Singapore, about the outlook for MAS policy and the trajectory of the Singapore dollar.

Yen volatility, the BoJ and the Fed

The US dollar is marginally lower this week (-0.5%) with the economic data that was released this week confirming still weakening labour market conditions. Derek Halpenny, Head of Research Global Markets EMEA & International Securities talks to James Roulston Institutional FX Sales about the LDP leadership election taking place on Saturday and the implications for BoJ policy and the yen going forward. In addition Derek discusses with James the implications of the ongoing government shutdown running into the FOMC meeting later this month.

It’s Still a Reach for a Goldilocks Outcome… (Podcast Edition)

George Goncalves, Head of Macro Strategy in the Americas, shares how our latest macro thinking has evolved, where our longstanding view that the weak labor market and ongoing large revisions would result in a Fed pivot and a restart of easing in September. There was a high level recap of the special topic from the latest monthly which covered Asia FX reserves. Our analysis shows that we’ve come full circle since the Asia financial crisis which was the catalyst for Asia to accumulate dollars, but with tariffs now in place, perhaps less dollar recycle occurs with clear implications for UST demand. Lastly, our podcast was recorded on the first official day of the government shutdown. George goes into what are the potential scenarios for the economy and how it could impact the way the team views rates and house view.

Will stronger US growth create foundations for a bigger USD rebound?

Lee Hardman, Senior Currency Analyst, and Seiko Kataoka-Fisher, Director from Japanese Customer Sales for EMEA in London, discuss how positive US economic data surprises have been encouraging a stronger USD. Will the divergence between weak US employment growth and stronger US GDP growth continue in the week ahead? 

US dollar gains unlikely to be sustained

Following the FOMC meeting on Wednesday and the BoJ meeting on Friday, Derek Halpenny, Head of Research Global Markets EMEA and International Securities talks to Chris Jack Jakubowski, Hedge Fund FX Institutional Sales about the impact of these central bank meetings on USD/JPY and the dollar more generally. Derek discusses the BoJ decision and how the upcoming LDP leadership election could play and important role in BoJ policy decisions and the yen.

How will the BoE’s policy update impact GBP performance?

Lee Hardman, Senior Currency Analyst talks to Michael Owen, Head of Global Client Desk EMEA, discuss what has been driving the FX market over the past week.
Will the BoE’s upcoming policy meeting continue to provide support for the GBP?   

Will the USD continue to fall as the Fed moves closer to cutting rates?

Lee Hardman, Senior Currency Analyst, speaks with Simon Mayes, Head of UK, Ireland and Switzerland Corporate Sales (FX), to discuss the outlook for the USD after the release of another weak nonfarm payrolls report. Will political uncertainty in France and Japan help to dampen USD weakness?

Rupiah outlook tested by protests

Lloyd Chan, Senior Currency Analyst at MUFG Global Markets Research Asia, speaks this week about the outlook for the Indonesian rupiah amid political uncertainty. Lloyd also highlights that Bank Indonesia’s FX intervention and the government’s rollback of its controversial policy have helped stabilize market sentiment on the rupiah for now.

US dollar resilience unlikely to last

The US dollar has been broadly stable this week despite the escalation of uncertainty related to Trump's attempts to undermine Fed independence. This week Derek Halpenny, Head of Research Global Markets EMEA & International Securities talks to James Roulston from FX Institutional Sales about the US dollar implications going forward. Derek also discusses BoJ policy, Japan politics and the yen and whether the political uncertainty emerging in France will impact the euro.

What’s next for the USD after Jackson Hole?

 Lee Hardman, Senior Currency Analyst, and Abdul-Ahad Lockhart, Currency Analyst from London, discuss the FX market fallout from Fed Chair Powell’s keynote speech at Jackson Hole. Could diverging policies between the Fed and other major central banks drive the USD even lower?"

How is the changing outlook for BoJ and Fed policies impacting USD/JPY?

Lee Hardman, Senior Currency Analyst, and Seiko Kataoka-Fisher, Director in Japanese Customer Sales for EMEA in London, discuss how the latest economic data is shaping the outlook for BoJ and Fed policies. Will widening policy divergence put greater pressure on USD/JPY as we head into the autumn?
 

USD downside risk increasing

The dollar weakened again this week, though more modestly - slipping less than 1%. Derek Halpenny, Head of Research, Global Markets EMEA & International Securities, joins James Roulston from FX Institutional Sales to unpack the key themes likely to shape FX moves in the weeks ahead. They discuss the implications of Stephen Miran’s appointment to the Fed Board of Governors - what it could mean for Chair Powell’s position in 2026—and assess the impact of the latest tariffs, which came into effect on Thursday. With US CPI data due on 12 August, they explore what to watch for and how it could influence the market.

At an inflection point or another macro head fake? (Podcast Edition)

George Goncalves, Head of Macro Strategy in the Americas, takes us through one of the busiest macro week of the year, where we had the Fed, QRA, BoJ, tariff deadlines and announcements, and a slew of labor data. In the end, the biggest highlight of the week was the extremely weak employment report which also had large revisions to the previous two months. Judging by the markets reaction, the downside in jobs data came as a surprise to markets but was not a shock to our macro team which has been flagging how labor market data has been overstating reality for months.
Additionally, the team discussed the recently published Macro2Markets monthly titled, “At an inflection point or another macro head fake?” where we covered the idea of how risk markets are pricing in a goldilocks scenario and how tariffs can be utilized to pay for the Big Beautiful Bill and the potential changes in Treasury demand. George wraps up by suggesting to stay on guard ahead because risks are now more asymmetric to the downside as risk markets are due a pullback.

Weak jobs data a gamechanger

The release of a much weaker-than-expected U.S. non-farm payrolls report has triggered significant market movements, as investors increasingly position for a potential Fed rate cut in September. Derek Halpenny, Head of Research, Global Markets EMEA & International Securities, speaks with Jack Greenslade from FX Corporate Sales about the report’s implications for the U.S. dollar and Federal Reserve policy. Derek also explores how the softer labour data could influence U.S. tariff decisions and what this means for the Swiss franc.