Forex news from the European trading session - 2 December 2021
Headlines:
- US November Challenger layoffs 14.9k vs 22.8k prior
- Sentiment is to stick with existing oil output plan, says senior OPEC+ source
- Eurozone October PPI +5.4% vs +3.5% m/m expected
- OPEC+ said to likely discuss pausing oil output hike for January among its options
Markets:
- GBP leads, AUD lags on the day
- European equities lower; S&P 500 futures up 0.1%
- US 10-year yields down 1.5 bps to 1.419%
- Gold down 0.2% to $1,779.50
- WTI down 0.5% to $65.22
- Bitcoin down 1.0% to $56,446
It was a quiet session for the most part as risk sentiment kept calmer early on but as we get in the final half-hour, we are starting to see the jitters and nerves creep back in.
European equities had a poor start, having to play catch up to Wall Street losses yesterday but the downdraft extended as risk appetite struggled during the session.
S&P 500 futures traded up by 0.5% only to be up by 0.1% now while Nasdaq futures turn negative and we're even seeing Treasury yields pare most of its advance from earlier, with 10-year yields even tracking lower now ahead of US trading.
In FX, things were more mixed as the dollar traded little changed mostly early on with USD/JPY trading up to 113.30 only to fall back to 112.80 now as the market is starting to look a little more nervous.
EUR/USD moved up slightly from 1.1320 to 1.1340 while GBP/USD kept a narrow advance around 1.3300-20 for the most part.
Commodity currencies saw some pushing and pulling as a result, though ranges are narrow with USD/CAD moving up from 1.2790 to 1.2815 while AUD/USD eased from 0.7120 to 0.7100 on the session.
Elsewhere, oil remains a key focus as OPEC+ decides on its output policy today but sentiment hasn't been too favourable as WTI crude slipped from $67 earlier to near $65 now amid headlines that OPEC+ may stick with its existing output policy instead.
