Forex news from the European trading session - 10 February 2021
Headlines:
- US MBA mortgage applications w.e. 5 February -4.1% vs +8.1% prior
- EU to request for another two months until 30 April to ratify Brexit deal
- Reminder: Chinese markets will be closed for about a week starting tomorrow
- BOJ may seek to clarify that it has room to deepen negative rates - report
- Germany reportedly to extend lockdown until 14 March
- Germany January final CPI +1.0% vs +1.0% y/y prelim
- Germany reports 8,072 new coronavirus cases, 813 deaths in latest update today
Markets:
- GBP leads, NZD lags on the day
- European equities a touch higher; E-minis up 0.3%
- US 10-year yields up 1.2 bps to 1.169%
- Gold up 0.1% to $1,839.91
- WTI up 0.6% to $58.70
- Bitcoin down 3.5% to $45,680
It was a relatively quiet session as the dollar kept more mixed ahead of US CPI data and Fed chair Powell's speech later on in the day.
Equities kept slightly firmer throughout, with S&P 500 futures holding higher by 0.3% while Treasuries are little changed ahead the auctions today.
The dollar eased initially with EUR/USD climbing from 1.2120 to 1.2144 before retreating as the greenback recovered some ground during the session.
EUR/USD is now little changed, trading at around 1.2110-20 as the dollar steadies.
GBP/USD kept a decent advance from 1.3825 to 1.3856 and is holding slight gains as the break continues with price trading to its highest levels since April 2018.
Meanwhile, USD/JPY eased from 104.55 to 104.41 to near its 100-day moving average before rebounding to around 104.80 now ahead of North American trading.
The kiwi is the laggard on the day as it struggled for momentum in a drop from 0.7245 to 0.7210 levels at the moment. The aussie also observed a decline from 0.7750 to 0.7720 as the mixed tones play out ahead of the key risk events highlighted.
In the commodities space, oil is continuing its good form as Brent keeps a solid advance above $61 while gold lingered around $1,840 for the most part. Silver is seeing a bit of a retreat from $27.40 to $27.10 as it loses a bit of steam today.
