• Yellen says will be meeting with senior bankers on debt ceiling next week
• Fed’s Bowman: Policy rate will need to remain sufficiently restrictive for some time
• ECB’s Nagel: Latest rate hike won’t be the last
• UK Q1 preliminary GDP +0.1% vs +0.1% q/q expected
• UK March monthly GDP -0.3% vs 0.0% m/m expected
• France April final CPI +5.9% vs +5.9% y/y prelim
• Spain April final CPI +4.1% vs +4.1% y/y prelim

Markets:

• GBP leads, NZD lags on the day
• European equities higher; S&P 500 futures up 0.3%
• US 10-year yields up 2.3 bps to 3.419%
• Gold down 0.6% to $2,004.08
• WTI crude up 0.4% to $71.17
• Bitcoin down 2.4% to $26,351

It was a relatively quiet session as markets continue to trudge along after the US CPI data earlier this week. The prevailing narrative i.e. major central banks likely to pause their respective tightening cycles, is still the key theme but the economic releases this week isn’t adding or subtracting from that in the past few days.

The dollar remains steady with EUR/USD down 0.2% to 1.0890 as sellers try to test waters below the 1.0900 mark. Meanwhile, GBP/USD is up 0.1% to 1.2525 and staying little changed in general as UK Q1 GDP meets estimates.

The greenback is seen firmer slightly against the yen with USD/JPY up 0.2% to 134.80, with higher yields helping. Elsewhere, the antipodeans are lagging with NZD/USD down over 1% to 0.6225 after a plunge back below its 100-day moving average as the downside momentum gathers following softer RBNZ inflation expectations earlier today.

In other markets, equities are holding some optimism towards the end of the week but European indices are more or less closing the week where they started. In the commodities space, gold is trading lower and eyeing a test of the $2,000 mark again with silver down over 1% again after its sharp fall yesterday.

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