Headlines:
- FX traders have got their popcorn bags out
- USD/JPY but a whisker away from the pivotal 155 mark
- Japan senior lawmaker says yen slide towards 160 could prod action
- Aussie bounce runs into key level on the chart, what's next?
- ECB's Nagel: June rate cut not necessarily followed up by a series of rate cuts
- Germany April Ifo business climate index 89.4 vs 88.8 expected
- Switzerland April UBS investor sentiment 17.6 vs 11.5 prior
- UK April CBI trends total orders -23 vs -16 expected
- US MBA mortgage applications w.e. 19 April -2.7% vs +3.3% prior
Markets:
- AUD leads, CHF lags on the day
- European equities higher; S&P 500 futures up 0.2%
- US 10-year yields up 3.7 bps to 4.635%
- Gold down 0.2% to $2,316.38
- WTI crude down 0.6% to $82.87
- Bitcoin up 0.3% to $66,545
The story of the session was pretty much having your eyes glued to the USD/JPY ticker to see if traders would take a run at the 155.00 mark. The high touched 154.96 but there was no further advance to really threaten the figure level as price hovered around 154.85-92 for the most part. Close but no cigar.
The rest of the major currencies bloc didn't get up to much as traders got their popcorn bags out instead. EUR/USD and GBP/USD are down a touch but nothing too substantial. The former is down 0.15% to 1.0683 while the latter is down 0.14% to 1.2431 on the day.
The aussie was a decent mover early on but ran into a test of its 200-day moving average against the dollar near 0.6530. AUD/USD then backed off but is still up around 0.25% at 0.6500 currently.
In the equities space, US futures are slightly higher but there are some nerves showing as S&P 500 futures briefly pared gains during the session. European indices are keeping a slight advance, hoping to keep the win streak going this week.
In the bond market, yields are higher again and that is also in part helping to underpin USD/JPY in general on the day.
