Forex news from the European trading session - 10 March 2021
Headlines:
- US MBA mortgage applications w.e. 5 March -1.3% vs +0.5% prior
- GameStop back at it again as pre-market trades up 18%
- China February M2 money supply +10.1% vs +9.4% y/y expected
- RBA's sleight of hand shows it is still pushing back against the bond market
- German health minister says won't see 10 million vaccinations per week in April
- Germany reports 9,146 new coronavirus cases, 300 deaths in latest update today
Markets:
- USD leads, CHF lags on the day
- European equities a little higher; S&P 500 futures up 0.1%
- US 10-year yields up 3.2 bps to 1.558%
- Gold down 0.3% to $1,711.60
- WTI up 0.8% to $64.50
- Bitcoin up 1.8% to $55,275
It was a relatively quiet session as the market is saving all the fireworks - if any - for later in the day with US February CPI data and the 10-year Treasury auction coming up.
The latter in particular will be a key risk event to watch, as yields crept a little higher on the day and the rest of the market is looking rather tentative in anticipation.
The dollar held slightly firmer throughout but didn't really stretch gains as EUR/USD stuck around 1.1880-00 for the most part and USD/JPY around 108.70-80 levels.
Commodity currencies were pressured towards the tail-end of Asian trading but recovered some ground thereafter, with USD/CAD easing from 1.2680 to 1.2640-50 and AUD/USD moving back up from 0.7670 to 0.7700 ahead of North American trading.
US futures were more tepid, alternating between mild gains and losses as the overall risk mood stays more cautious and tentative ahead of the 10-year auction.
Precious metals kept lower after the rebound yesterday, with gold sticking around $1,710 and silver around $25.60-70 levels for the most part during the session.
All eyes are on the key events coming up in the US so let's see how that all plays out before we get to the ECB policy meeting tomorrow.
