Forex news from the European trading session - 11 March 2021
Headlines:
- EU warns of more vaccine delays to follow - report
- Spain plays down AstraZeneca vaccine concerns
- Denmark suspends use of AstraZeneca vaccine due to serious cases of blood clots
- China premier Li Keqiang: China's 2021 GDP growth target of over 6% is not low
- BOJ to debate whether to allow 10-year JGB yields to move more freely around 0% target - report
- Treasury yields slipping further in European morning trade
- Germany reports 14,356 new coronavirus cases, 321 deaths in latest update today
Markets:
- CHF leads, JPY lags on the day
- European equities mixed; S&P 500 futures up 0.6%
- US 10-year yields down 1.4 bps to 1.508%
- Gold up 0.3% to $1,732.35
- WTI up 1.1% to $65.13
- Bitcoin down 1.6% to $56,032
It was a relatively quiet session as the market gears towards the ECB policy meeting and a couple of notable events in the US (jobless claims and 30-year Treasury auction).
The calmer tone in the bond market continues to set the stage for risk assets to thrive as US futures pushed forward with gains - led by tech.
10-year Treasury yields eased to 1.473% at the lows earlier, falling below 1.50% for the first time after Fed chair Powell's speech on Thursday last week.
European equities held slight gains but are seen more mixed now with the DAX and UK FTSE a touch lower on the day. US futures kept higher throughout with Nasdaq futures extending gains from 1% to 2% on the session before leveling off a little.
The overall mood kept the dollar pressured as EUR/USD moved up from 1.1930 to 1.1969 to test its 200-hour moving average, while USD/JPY eased from 108.80 to 108.40-50 levels during the session.
Commodity currencies are staying more perky with AUD/USD rising from 0.7745 to 0.7784 before gains cooled off while USD/CAD eased back below 1.2600 to 1.2571 as the loonie is also underpinned by higher oil prices today.
Looking ahead, the market will be keeping the focus on the ECB statement and Lagarde's press conference to see if they will keep the party going or if the central bank will disappoint and that might stir up some nerves ahead of the weekend.
