Headlines:
- Sterling tumbles on break below 1.3000, what's next?
- Yuan fall not letting up towards the end of the week
- US sounded like it will consider the idea of joint FX intervention with Japan - report
- Europe PMI recap: Services sector rebound masks continued inflation surge
- UK March retail sales -1.4% vs -0.3% m/m expected
- Lagarde said to told ECB policymakers to hold back on dissenting views, leaks
- Germany's Scholz: I don't see how a gas embargo on Russia would end the war
Markets:
- JPY leads, GBP lags on the day
- European equities lower; S&P 500 futures down 0.2%
- US 10-year yields flat at 2.916%
- Gold down 0.8% to $1,935.50
- WTI down 1.2% to $102.52
- Bitcoin down 0.3% to $40,535
It's shaping up to be a typical April day in trading today, with bond yields rising, the dollar rallying, and equities looking more sluggish. That has been the sort of familiar theme we have been seeing as of late and today is no different.
European indices opened lower, having to play catch up to the late plunge in US stocks yesterday but the overall risk mood is rather soft in any case. In FX, I would say the recent drop in the yuan isn't getting enough attention as it should but that tends to correlate with a more risk averse narrative and a stronger dollar. That is precisely what we're seeing.
The greenback is continuing its good form as of late with EUR/USD falling from 1.0840 to 1.0790 while GBP/USD took a plunge after poor UK retail sales data, falling from 1.3020 to 1.2865 before keeping near 1.2900.
USD/JPY was steadier, though it saw a drop to 127.75 after more intervention talk by Japanese officials. The pair then recovered back to keep near flat levels now around 128.20-40.
Meanwhile, commodity currencies struggled heavily amid the more dour risk mood. USD/CAD is up 0.7% to 1.2670 while AUD/USD is down 0.9% to test 0.7300 with its 200-day moving average nearby.
Elsewhere, gold is continuing its struggle as price is declining further after having neared the $2,000 mark at the start of the week. Price is down 0.8% to $1,935 at the moment.