Forex news from the European trading session - 29 July 2021
Headlines:
- ECB strategy review meeting account: New strategy might imply transitory period of inflation above 2%
- Japan reportedly set to extend state of emergency in Tokyo to 31 August
- Saxony July CPI +3.7% vs +2.1% y/y prior
- Eurozone July final consumer confidence -4.4 vs -4.4 prelim
- UK June mortgage approvals 81.3k vs 86.1k expected
- Bavaria July CPI +3.8% vs +2.4% y/y prior
- Germany July unemployment change -91.0k vs -28.0k expected
- Tokyo reports a record 3,865 new daily COVID-19 cases
- Spain July preliminary CPI +2.9% vs +2.6% y/y expected
- ECB's Panetta: Can only increase rates when convinced that inflation can stabilise at 2% over medium-term
Markets:
- NZD leads, USD lags on the day
- European equities higher; S&P 500 futures up 0.1%
- US 10-year yields flat at 1.261%
- Gold up 1.1% at $1,826.88
- WTI up 0.4% to $72.67
- Bitcoin down 0.4% to $39,800
It was a quiet session for the most part as the market continues to digest the communication offered up by the Fed yesterday.
The dollar remains weaker overall, keeping with the reaction from yesterday, with EUR/USD moving up from 1.1845 to 1.1880. Meanwhile, GBP/USD also pushed above its 100-day moving average and goes in search of a move towards 1.4000.
USD/JPY is little changed as Treasury yields remain flattish, holding around 109.70-80 levels.
Elsewhere, commodity currencies are maintaining a modest advance with USD/CAD sliding further below 1.2500 to 1.2450. NZD/USD is up 0.6% to 0.6990 as the pair tests the 0.7000 handle from around 0.6970 to start European morning trade earlier.
With the Fed kicking the can on tapering, gold and silver are also posting decent gains with the former up 1% to $1,827 and the latter up over 2% to $25.55 on the session.
Equities are keeping steadier as there isn't much of a shakeup with Powell & co. leaving room for perhaps a Jackson Hole pivot (unofficially) but also as earnings and month-end trading are still playing a role for the remainder of the week.
