Forex news from the European trading session – 21 April 2021
Headlines:
Markets:
– NZD leads, EUR lags on the day
– European equities higher; S&P 500 futures flat

French government spokesperson, Gabriel Attal, comments
Adding that the base case scenario remains for bars, restaurants to reopen outdoor seatings by mid-May. That’s certainly optimistic but the hope here is that vaccinations will pick up significantly and outpace virus infections and hospitalisations, though the latter remains a key concern still for the time being.

Latest data from the Mortgage Bankers Association for the week ending 16 April 2021
–  -3.7%
– Market index 724.8 vs 667.7 prior
– Refinancing index 3,219.9 vs 2,916.7 prior
The jump in mortgage applications in the past week owes to both a spike in purchasing and refinancing activity, with the long-term rate seen slipping further from the high of 3.36%

BOE governor, Andrew Bailey, delivers a keynote speech at a virtual event hosted by the central bank
The full remarks can be found . Nothing much of note.
here

Remarks by Japanese prime minister, Yoshihide Suga
This looks inevitable, so expect a formal announcement to follow later in the week. Earlier reports suggest that Tokyo will observe a state of emergency from 29 April to 9 May to start with, so that provides some idea of the proposal.

Forex news from the European trading session – 20 April 2021
Headlines:
Markets:
– AUD leads, JPY lags on the day
– European equities lower; E-minis down 0.4%

Mainhichi Shimbun reports on the matter
This comes as virus infections are on the rise in Japan, with Tokyo having reported 711 new cases today – the highest tally since 26 January. The move by the Japanese capital comes after Osaka made a formal decision to request a state of emergency declaration as well after having

S&P 500 futures down 0.4%
The shift in the risk tone here also sees Treasury yields fall back below 1.60% now with the dollar trimming declines in the major currencies space.

It is shaping up to be a rather mixed session so far
The dollar is holding its ground in the past hour or so as it sees its declines trimmed on the day, with EUR/USD moving away from 1.2080 to 1.2050-60 levels while GBP/USD is down a touch to 1.3980 levels from around 1.4000 earlier.

Remarks by European commissioner for internal market, Thierry Breton
They have been touting this since February and are continuing to stick with that goalpost as we approach May. Perhaps vaccine supply won’t be an issue but the rollout certainly needs to gather pace as most countries in the EU are struggling to even achieve at least