<p>Headlines:</p><ul><li><a target=“_blank“ href=“https://www.forexlive.com/news/commodity-currencies-lead-as-risk-appetite-improves-to-start-the-week-20220808/“>Commodity currencies lead as risk appetite improves to start the week</a></li><li><a target=“_blank“ href=“https://www.forexlive.com/news/usdjpy-fails-to-hold-above-13500-on-the-day-20220808/“>USD/JPY fails to hold above 135.00 on the day</a></li><li><a target=“_blank“ href=“https://www.forexlive.com/news/eurozone-august-sentix-investor-confidence-252-vs-247-expected-20220808/“>Eurozone August Sentix investor confidence -25.2 vs -24.7 expected</a></li><li><a target=“_blank“ href=“https://www.forexlive.com/news/germany-reaffirms-that-it-rules-out-approval-of-nord-stream-2-pipeline-20220808/“>Germany reaffirms that it rules out approval of Nord Stream 2 pipeline</a></li><li><a target=“_blank“ href=“https://www.forexlive.com/news/china-says-will-continue-military-drills-around-taiwan-today-20220808/“>China says will continue military drills around Taiwan today</a></li></ul><p>Markets:</p><ul><li>NZD leads, USD lags on the day</li><li>European equities higher; S&P 500 futures up 0.5%</li><li>US 10-year yields down 3 bps to 2.80%</li><li>Gold up 0.4% to $1,782.03</li><li>WTI crude down 1.3% to $87.88</li><li>Bitcoin up 5.3% to $24,171</li></ul><p style=““ class=“text-align-justify“>It was a slow start to the proceedings initially but there were some decent moves as European trading kicked into gear. The aussie and kiwi were slightly higher in Asia trading but ramped up the pressure during the session as equities also pulled higher, continuing the recovery mood from late last Friday.</p><p style=““ class=“text-align-justify“>In turn, the dollar dropped alongside bond yields as markets get settled in with all eyes focused on the US CPI data on Wednesday. That will provide another key risk event for traders to scrutinise, so we’re not seeing the post-NFP reaction get carried away.</p><p style=““ class=“text-align-justify“>But for stocks, the positive mood is flowing as European indices are posting modest gains around 0.5% to 0.9% while US futures are up around 0.5% as we look towards the session ahead.</p><p style=““ class=“text-align-justify“>AUD/USD kept higher around 0.6935 before pushing gains to 0.6970 levels at the moment. Meanwhile, NZD/USD is up nearly 1% on the day now as it extended early gains from 0.6250 to 0.6280 levels currently. For the aussie, it is still shy of reclaiming the critical 0.7000 level and that will be one to watch in trading this week.</p><p style=““ class=“text-align-justify“>Elsewhere, EUR/USD is keeping a light advance around 1.0200 with GBP/USD clawing its way back above 1.2100 but the gains on both fronts aren’t anything to shout about.</p><p style=““ class=“text-align-justify“>USD/JPY was a notable mover as it fell from 135.20 to 134.60 as buyers failed to hold a firm break above 135.00 in light of a retreat in Treasury yields.</p><p style=““ class=“text-align-justify“>It looks like we may be entering the phase where markets are looking more pensive and a bit of a push and pull ahead of the US CPI data on Wednesday.</p>

This article was written by Justin Low at www.forexlive.com.

<p style=““ class=“text-align-justify“>The jump higher in the dollar after the US jobs report on Friday was encouraging but there still needs to be more in order to vindicate a return back to the year’s highs for the greenback. For now, the price action today suggests that market players are not convinced and USD/JPY tipping back below 135.00 is but a testament to that.</p><p style=““ class=“text-align-justify“>While buyers managed to recover well from a drop towards 130.00 last week, the rebound here isn’t suggestive of a return towards 140.00 yet either. For that, the bond market needs to play ball and for now, that isn’t quite the case. 10-year Treasury yields are down 4 bps today to near 2.79% upon encountering resistance at the 100-day moving average:</p><p style=““ class=“text-align-justify“>That continues to be quite a defining technical point for the bond market at the moment. As such, that might be enough to keep USD/JPY pinned down below 135.00 as well.</p><p style=““ class=“text-align-justify“>Looking ahead this week, all the focus will be on the US CPI data on Wednesday and I reckon only until we get there will there be any real convictions for traders to firmly challenge key technical points on the charts.</p>

This article was written by Justin Low at www.forexlive.com.

<p style=““ class=“text-align-justify“>This isn’t a new development but it just reaffirms that we are not looking towards that despite the fact that a looming gas crisis is looming over the country and Europe in general. For some context, Russia had touted that the new pipeline would bring about additional 55 billion cubic meters of gas per year to Germany.</p>

This article was written by Justin Low at www.forexlive.com.

This article was written by ForexLive at www.forexlive.com.