Headlines:
- China president Xi says no to relaxation of COVID-19 measures
- US MBA mortgage applications w.e. 8 April -1.3% vs -6.3% prior
- JP Morgan sees profit drop on dealmaking slowdown
- Fed's Bullard: It is 'fantasy' to believe that neutral is enough to bring down inflation
- BOJ's Kuroda: To sustain support for economic recovery with powerful monetary easing
- UK March CPI +7.0% vs +6.7% y/y expected
- IEA says recent developments should prevent a sharp deficit in the oil market
- Spain March final CPI +9.8% vs +9.8% y/y prelim
Markets:
- EUR leads, NZD lags on the day
- European equities lower; S&P 500 futures up 0.1%
- US 10-year yields up 0.8 bps to 2.735%
- Gold up 0.6% to $1,977.20
- WTI up 1.3% to $101.95
- Bitcoin up 0.5% to $39,750
There dollar continues to keep steadier on the week with a jump higher against the yen to fresh 20-year highs above 126.00. The high today hit 126.30 before dropping back below the figure level for the time being.
The move came early on in European trading amid further selling in bonds although that has since abated with yields falling back down to near unchanged levels on the day currently.
In the equities space, European stocks were sluggish while US futures saw most of its early optimism tempered with as well. S&P 500 futures were up about 0.7% before erasing most of that advance.
Going back to FX, the kiwi was another big mover as it slumped heavily following the RBNZ rate decision earlier in the day. The central bank raised its OCR by 50 bps in a supposedly more hawkish move but local analysts are viewing it as a 'dovish hike'. NZD/USD moved up initially to 0.6900 before nearing a test of its 200-day moving average and then slumping hard to 0.6770, down 1.1% currently.
The euro and pound remain little changed against the dollar, with the pound not really moving much in spite of UK inflation hitting 7% - its highest since March 1992.
