Forex news from the European trading session - 3 August 2020
Headlines:
- UK July final manufacturing PMI 53.3 vs 53.6 prelim
- SNB total sight deposits w.e. 31 July CHF 693.7 bn vs CHF 692.6 bn prior
- Eurozone July final manufacturing PMI 51.8 vs 51.1 prelim
- Australia announces pandemic leave disaster payments for those who need to self-isolate
- ByteDance founder says disagrees with CFIUS ruling on TikTok
- Switzerland July CPI -0.9% vs -1.1% y/y expected
- Tokyo reportedly finds 258 new coronavirus cases in latest update today
- Australia: Victorian state premier Andrews announces update on further business restrictions
- Australia: Victoria reports 429 new coronavirus cases in latest update today
Markets:
- USD leads, CHF lags on the day
- European equities higher; E-minis up 0.5%
- US 10-year yields up 1.6 bps to 0.545%
- Gold down 0.3% to $1,969.68
- WTI down 0.6% to $40.02
- Bitcoin down 1.4% to $11,182
It was a largely quiet session but the dollar kept firmer across the board, reversing some of the moves associated with month-end flows from trading last week.
USD/JPY raced to a high of 106.43 in early Asian trading before settling around 105.80 levels and is now holding just above the 106.00 handle. Higher Treasury yields and a better performance in the equities space are also helping with that.
But the dollar strength is more evident against the likes of the euro, pound, franc and aussie. EUR/USD eased from 1.1770 to 1.1714, with buyers keeping just above its 200-hour moving average for the time being.
Cable fell from a high of 1.3113 to a low of 1.3012 as buyers and seller are doing battle at the 100-hour moving average ahead of North American trading.
Meanwhile, AUD/USD slipped amid the escalating virus situation in Victoria - where further business restrictions were introduced - falling from 0.7140 to 0.7100.
It is a bit of a mixed start to the new week and month as the dollar is firming despite the better risk mood in the market.
Looking ahead, there's still a few key focus points to be mindful of with US stimulus talks still ongoing, alongside the escalating virus situation across the globe.
On the latter, the CDC predicts that up to 11,000 people will die every week from the virus in the US this month. That is a horrifying statistic to imagine.
Add that to the weight that we're starting to fall off the fiscal cliff and the virus also getting worse in other countries across the globe, that's not helping with the narrative of a quick recovery by the end of this year.
Oh, and we're also three months away from the US election too.
Just some food for thought to kick start the week.