Category Market Updates

USD/JPY edged 0.1% lower yesterday after mixed US data prompted markets to rein in expectations of a very aggressive Federal Reserve. US Q1 GDP was downwardly revised, confirming that the US economy contracted in the first three months of the year.

USD/CAD finished flat yesterday as the USD traced treasury yields higher. The pair shrugged off the minutes of the latest Fed meeting, which revealed little that the market didn’t already know. The Fed is expected to raise interest rates by 50 basis points at the June and July meeting.

The NASDAQ fell 2.3% in the previous session after a profit warning from Snap spooked the markets. Snap warned that the economic outlook had deteriorated faster than expected and raising fears that advertising spending had peaked.

Oil => The commodity slips below $110 S&P500 => The index falls from a 5-day high EUR/GBP => The pair falls below 0.85 Oil edges lower of API data Oil prices settled flat yesterday as concerns over slowing global growth…

EUR/USD rose 1.4% last week, boosted by broad-based USD weakness and growing expectations that the ECB will use the June meeting to prepare for a July interest rate hike.

Gold rallied 1.5% yesterday and has pushed above $1840, boosted by a combination of a weaker USD and safe-haven flows. The USD fell over 0.8% amid growing fears of a US economic slowdown, which could prevent the Fed from hiking interest rates as aggressively as initially expected.

The Dow Jones booked its largest daily loss since October 2022 yesterday, falling 3.7% or 1100 points on fears over inflation and the prospect of a recession in the US.

GBP/USD jumped 1.4% higher in the previous session after robust UK jobs data. Unemployment dropped to a pre-COVID low, and vacancies outstripped the number of unemployed for the first time on record. Wages, including bonuses, surged to 7%, prompting bets that the BoE could raise interest rates again in June, which would mark the 5th straight rate hike meeting.

The UK index closed higher yesterday despite warnings from the BoE governor Andrew Bailey over surging inflation and a worrying rise in food pieces. Andrew Bailey insisted that the BoE would raise interest rates until inflation falls from the expected double-digit peak to the central bank’s 2% target.

EUR/GBP fell 0.7% last week, which was more of a euro weakness story than owing to significant pound strength. The pound traded broadly lower versus its major peers on recession fears and as Brexit concerns returned.