Headlines:
- Dollar firms as the push and pull this week continues
- The gold rush continues: what's the current picture and what are the risks?
- USTR Greer: Will look to finalise more trade deals with ASEAN countries in coming months
- ECB's Cipollone: The European economy has been surprisingly resilient
- Ex-BoJ member Adachi: October rate hike cannot be ruled out
- Japan PM contender Takaichi: Govt responsible to set direction of fiscal, monetary policy
- Alibaba shares surge more than 10% as CEO announces increased AI spending
- Germany September Ifo business climate index 87.7 vs 89.3 expected
- US MBA mortgage applications w.e. 19 September +0.6% vs +29.7% prior
Markets:
- AUD leads, EUR and JPY lag on the day
- European equities lower; S&P 500 futures up 0.2%
- US 10-year yields down 0.4 bps to 4.113%
- Gold up 0.1% to $3,768.34
- WTI crude oil up 1.1% to $64.10
- Bitcoin up 0.9% to $112,990
There weren't any significant headlines on the session as market players were left to their own devices in riding out the middle of the week.
The US dollar firmed in European morning trade, rebounding after some slight softness in the past two days as the push and pull mood continues to play out this week. EUR/USD fell from 1.1800 to 1.1750 while USD/JPY ramped up from 147.90 to 148.40 now, nearing its 200-day moving average of 148.50. That will be a key technical level to watch out for with the pair having largely traded rangebound since July.
Besides that, the dollar is also posting gains across the board with USD/CHF up 0.4% to 0.7945 and USD/CAD up 0.3% to 1.3875 on the day. AUD/USD is still seen marginally higher just above 0.6600 but have trimmed its advance from earlier after the hotter than expected Australia monthly CPI data here.
In other markets, equities are keeping more mixed with European indices holding lower on the day following the retreat in Wall Street yesterday. US futures though are keeping steadier, holding a light advance as investors hope to reclaim fresh record highs seen on Monday.
Besides that, the bond market was largely muted while in the commodities space we did see precious metals catch a bid early on before fizzling after. Gold raced up to a high of $3,779 but is now little changed around $3,768 on the day. The same for silver after its run above $44 stalled once again before falling back to $43.98 currently.
The middle of the week is not going to promise much in terms of excitement on the economic calendar. As such, we might have to wait it out until tomorrow for US economic data and more Fedspeak to try and shake things up.
