Headlines:
- Commodities are in the spotlight as the new week gets underway
- FX stays more muted to start the session
- Fed's Bostic: It is going to take a while before we are certain inflation is headed to 2%
- ECB's Kazāks: It's quite likely June will be when we start to cut rates
- BOE's Broadbent: It is possible that a rate cut could come this summer
- Who will be Iran's next president?
Markets:
- FX muted; NZD lags slightly
- European equities a little higher; S&P 500 futures up 0.2%
- US 10-year yields down 2.4 bps to 4.415%
- Gold up 0.7% to $2,431.50
- WTI crude down 0.4% to $79.77
- Bitcoin up 0.3% to $67,115
It was a largely quiet session with it being a bank holiday in most parts of Europe. Markets were still open though but there is a distinct lack of appetite, with major currencies extremely muted on the day.
The dollar is keeping steady but little changed overall, with not much change to take note of. The ranges for the day are also leaving a lot to be desired with most dollar pairs holding within just 25 pips. The snapshot here speaks for itself:
In the equities space, stocks are steadier as investors look to build on the winning form from last week.
But it is commodities that are stealing the spotlight to start the week, with gold racing higher to fresh record highs earlier around $2,440 levels. Price has come back down a bit to $2,431 now but the precious metal is still up 0.7% on the day.
At the same time, copper is also surging higher as futures look to hold a firm break above the $5 per pound mark. It hit a fresh record high of $5.16 earlier before holding around $5.05 now.
