- Dollar starts to push back after last week’s fall
- Japan finance minister reaffirms that rapid FX moves are undesirable
- BOJ governor Ueda says will not comment specifically on recent FX moves
- BOJ governor Ueda: Will guide policy appropriately to sustainably achieve price target
- Germany March industrial production -0.4% vs -0.6% m/m expected
- US MBA mortgage applications w.e. 3 May +2.6% vs -2.3% prior
- US reportedly looks to curb China’s access to AI software
- Morgan Stanley pushes back Fed rate cut forecast to September
Markets:
- USD leads, AUD and JPY lag on the day
- European equities mixed; S&P 500 futures down 0.2%
- US 10-year yields up 3.1 bps to 4.491%
- Gold up 0.1% to $2,316.08
- WTI crude down 1.2% to $77.43
- Bitcoin down 1.1% to $62,275
It was a relatively quiet session as there isn’t much on the agenda in trading today.
The dollar held steadier and is a touch higher on the day, helped out by a push above 155.00 in USD/JPY. The pair is slowly nudging higher as dip buyers keep up their conviction this week, with price up 0.5% to 155.45 currently. The 200-hour moving average at 155.50 is currently limiting gains ahead of US trading.
Besides that, the dollar is keeping a little firmer against the likes of the euro and pound. Meanwhile, AUD/USD is down 0.5% as well to 0.6563 as sellers contest a break below the 100-day moving average of 0.6577. The 200-hour moving average is also coming into play now at around 0.6560 on the day. Fall below that and the near-term bias switches to being more bearish instead.
In the equities space, US futures are taking a bit of a breather after the recent rebound. After the more tepid showing yesterday, S&P 500 futures are currently down 0.2%. In Europe though, stocks are still holding on to light gains with the UK FTSE keeping its push to fresh record highs today.
The greenback’s firmness today also owes to a slight bounce in bond yields as well on the session. 10-year Treasury yields are up roughly 3 bps as traders are still mulling over the recent economic developments since last week.
This article was written by Justin Low at www.forexlive.com.