ForexLive European FX news wrap: Dollar retraces gains ahead of final stretch of the week 0 (0)

Headlines:

Markets:

  • GBP leads, USD lags on the day
  • European equities a little higher; S&P 500 futures up 0.2%
  • US 10-year yields down 2.6 bps to 3.788%
  • Gold up 0.6% to $1,952.39
  • WTI crude up 0.9% to $72.48
  • Bitcoin down 0.1% to $26,450

It was a quiet session for the most part as there wasn’t any key headlines in Europe. In terms of data, we saw UK retail sales come in slightly better in April but after a softer revision to the March numbers.

But the story of the day is a retracement in dollar gains as the risk mood holds up ahead of the long weekend. US debt ceiling talks look to be making progress and that is helping to see US futures climb after a bit more of a cautious and tentative start.

The dollar tracked lower in European morning trade and continued that throughout the session, with the pound and antipodeans benefiting the most. GBP/USD is up 0.5% to 1.2380 while AUD/USD is up 0.5% to 0.6538 after a test of 0.6500 earlier in the day.

Elsewhere, USD/JPY is down slightly to 139.75 after a rejection at 140.00 with lower bond yields also placing a drag on the pair. EUR/USD is up just a touch by 0.2% to 1.0745 and USD/CAD down 0.2% to 1.3605 on the day.

It’s now over to US PCE price data to see what that has to offer, before markets start to gear towards the long weekend and then month-end trading next week.

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

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US deputy Treasury secretary says making progress on debt ceiling 0 (0)

  • Biden expects Congress to raise the debt ceiling

Well, it’s not done until it is done but then again, this has been an issue that almost always runs down to the wire over the last few decades. I definitely thought there might be more drama for markets and a better potential opportunity to fade the panic, but we’ll see.

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

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US futures nudge a little higher on the day 0 (0)

Dow futures are also seen up 0.1% and Nasdaq futures up 0.3% at the moment as we start to see light gains on the session now. In trading yesterday, there was a heavy contrast in the mood in Wall Street. The Dow suffered losses once again while the Nasdaq surged higher as it owed much to Nvidia’s strong performance after its solid earnings report.

In the bigger picture, overall sentiment looks to be hinging quite a bit on the US debt ceiling talks at the moment.

Tech stocks though have continued to defy the odds, so that might make things a bit tricky as we look towards the long weekend. But at least for now, there are murmurs that debt ceiling talks might take a more optimistic turn (not too surprising) and that is also perhaps helping to see some mild positivity creep in ahead of US trading later.

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

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Dollar continues to sit a little lower in quiet trading 0 (0)

The dollar is slightly lower on the day but it doesn’t take away from the gains so far this week, as the greenback continues to sit in the driver’s seat ahead of the US PCE price data later. The technical levels outlined yesterday (as per below) are still very much in play and we have to see if dollar bulls have the appetite to chase any breaks before the long weekend.

Elsewhere, Treasury yields are also just slightly lower on the day with 10-year yields down 2.8 bps to 3.786% at the moment. Meanwhile, equities are keeping steadier with S&P 500 futures now up 0.1% after a more tentative start. European stocks on the other hand have seen the early advance wiped out to be little changed now.

US debt ceiling talks are still clouding markets for the most part, at least in terms of equities sentiment that is. However, there are growing murmurs of positive developments and so we have to see if that will keep up ahead of the X-date – which I would estimate is some time during the first week of June.

Anyway, here are the levels to watch for in dollar pairs as highlighted yesterday and are still applicable now:

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

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