Forex news from the European morning session - 4 February 2020
Headlines:
- Russia's Novak says that not sure if now is the right time to deepen oil output cuts
- Singapore confirms six more cases of the new coronavirus, total tally now at 24
- UK January construction PMI 48.4 vs 47.1 expected
- Cable pares losses in move back up to 1.3000
- Cable makes fresh lows for the year
- IDP says won't release caucus results tonight
- Taiwan to restrict entry of foreigners with recent travel history to China
- Macau mulls suspending casino operations for half a month
- Yonhap report that Hyundai will stop all production lines in Korea this week
Markets:
- AUD leads, JPY lags on the day
- European equities higher; E-minis up 1.1%
- US 10-year yields up 5 bps to 1.577%
- Gold down 0.5% to $1,568.40
- WTI up 1.8% to $51.01
- Bitcoin down 1.5% to $9,125
It was a much calmer trading session in the European morning today as risk trades pushed higher amid receding fears surrounding the coronavirus outbreak situation.
But it wasn't quite the case for the pound as the currency bounced up and down and then back up again after hitting fresh lows for the year. Cable inched higher to 1.3025 in early trades before backing off and sliding to 1.2941 as London traders entered.
That soon turned around as price climbed back up to 1.2990-00 before climbing back to 1.3015-25 levels seen currently again. Post-Brexit trade worries are among reasons keeping the currency pressured but dip buyers are proving tough around 1.2950-70 for now.
The aussie is leading gains amid some short covering after the RBA left rates unchanged earlier, while the yen is keeping weaker as US futures and Treasury yields are marked higher to start the new day. As such, USD/JPY is back up above the 109.00 handle currently.
Oil is also another key gainer as WTI is staving off a push below the $50.00 level after hitting fresh lows for the year to kick start the week.
Looking ahead, risk will be the key focus in the market once again as we will see how investors react further to the coronavirus outbreak situation. Notably, Tesla shares are once again surging in pre-market trading, up by 11% following the near 20% gain yesterday.
