Forex news from the European morning session - 26 March 2019
Headlines:
- Italy reportedly set to cut 2019 GDP forecast
- Brexit: UK lawmakers begin to see Rees-Mogg's point of view on May's deal
- DUP's Wilson: Happy to let Brexit spiral into no-deal
- Brexit: Rees-Mogg says May's deal is better than not leaving at all
- OPEC+ said to plan next JMMC meeting in Jeddah on 19 May
- UK Finance February mortgage approvals 35.30k vs 40.63k expected
- China said to plan more US pork imports amid trade talks
- ECB's Rehn: Eurozone slowdown seems more durable than just the short-term
- Fed's Harker: I was not supportive of the December rate hike
- France March business confidence 104 vs 103 expected
- UK's Harrington says there is no overwhelming majority for any single Brexit option
- DUP's Shannon: Backstop must change or be removed in order for party to back the deal
- Germany April GfK consumer confidence 10.4 vs 10.8 expected
Markets:
- GBP leads, JPY lags on the day
- European equities higher; E-minis up 0.5%
- US 10-year yields up 4.7 bps to 2.446%
- Gold down 0.6% to $1,313.45
- WTI up 1.2% to $59.54
- Bitcoin up 0.3% to $3,898
The pound was the most active currency in the European morning as it gets taken for a ride aboard the Brexit roller coaster. It started with the DUP reiterating that they're nowhere near backing May's deal and that sent the quid lower with cable falling from 1.3190 to a low of 1.3158 at the start of the session.
But the pair was supported from yesterday's low of 1.3160 before consolidating around 1.3200 and then receiving a push from Jacob Rees-Mogg echoing his overnight stance (potential softening) which was backed by Iain Duncan Smith and Michael Fabricant.
Cable jumped to a high of 1.3251 but then settled back to around 1.3230 currently as those remarks offers May's deal a tiny glimmer of hope. The numbers are still stacked against her at the moment but at least it isn't sure-fire dead for the time being.
The other main mover of the session was the yen as it got taken lower on the back of a recovery in bond yields. 10-year Treasury yields are up by nearly 5 bps and that is providing a relief for yen pairs with USD/JPY looking to break out as it trades at the highs around 110.40 now, just under the 100-hour moving average.
Besides that, other major currencies saw more subdued price action with trading ranges still relatively narrow. EUR/USD is relatively unchanged on the day as the pair sits in 23 pips trading range with traders waiting on Wall Street to confirm the risk recovery mood.
AUD/USD sits higher as buyers continue to keep up the near-term bullish momentum but large expiries at 0.7000 and 0.7045-50 is helping to limit price movements as the pair traded around 0.7115-35 on the session.
