Forex news from the European trading session - 25 September 2020
Headlines:
- Spain recommends for Madrid to go into total lockdown
- Japan PM Suga: International students to be allowed into the country from October
- Eurozone August M3 money supply +9.5% vs +10.1% y/y expected
- ECB's Villeroy: ECB might let inflation rise above 2% for some time
- ECB's Villeroy: Inflation is not yet where we want it
- Germany records 2,321 new coronavirus cases, the most since 24 April
- Japan's Nishimura confirms easing of entry restrictions into the country
Markets:
- NZD leads, EUR lags on the day
- European equities lower; E-minis down ~0.6%
- US 10-year yields down 0.6 bps to 0.659%
- Gold down 0.5% to $1,859.10
- WTI down 1.0% to $39.90
- Bitcoin flat at $10,642
The risk-off mood kicked back into gear in European morning trade today, following a bit of a breather seen yesterday.
There are still jitters involving the recent tech selloff and fleeting optimism surrounding US stimulus talks are both playing a role in driving the market lower today.
European indices started the day more mixed but are now posting near 2% losses while US futures switched from modest gains to losses during the session.
The dollar firmed across the board as a result, trimming losses against commodity currencies from earlier in the day while pushing gains against the euro and pound.
EUR/USD traded around 1.1670 initially but dropped to 1.1630 while GBP/USD fell from a high of 1.2800 to 1.2695 before bouncing a little off the 1.2700 handle once again.
AUD/USD saw early gains erased in a move from 0.7080 to 0.7025 while NZD/USD also trimmed its advance from near 0.6600 to 0.6540-50 levels now.
Elsewhere, gold also eased to $1,850 levels as the dollar firmed while oil is tracking slightly back under $40 ahead of North American trading.
All eyes will turn towards Wall Street to see if these early jitters will turn into something more ugly ahead of the weekend. Another red day will see US stocks poised for a fourth week of decline, with the dollar poised for its best weekly performance since April.