Headlines:
- Japan PM Kishida: FX stability is important
- USD/JPY keeps above 125.00 despite more verbal intervention
- US March NFIB small business optimism index 93.2 vs 95.7 prior
- UK March jobless claims change -46.9k vs -48.1k prior
- Germany April ZEW survey current conditions -30.8 vs -35.0 expected
- Germany March wholesale price index +6.9% vs +1.7% m/m prior
- Germany March final CPI +7.3% vs +7.3% y/y prelim
Markets:
- AUD leads, EUR lags on the day
- European equities lower; S&P 500 futures up 0.1%
- US 10-year yields down 0.7 bps to 2.775%
- Gold flat at $1,955.40
- WTI up 3.9% to $97.95
- Bitcoin up 1.3% to $40,335
The session was quiet in terms of major headlines but there was some decent movement throughout.
The bond market continues to be under the spotlight and the selling continued early on but has cooled considerably ahead of the US CPI data release later. 10-year Treasury yields were up to 2.84% but have come down to near 2.77% currently but all eyes will be on what the inflation numbers have to offer in just over half an hour.
The dollar was mostly steady as it kept a slight advance against the euro, pound and yen. EUR/USD eased from 1.0880 to 1.0855 while GBP/USD was brought down from 1.3030 to test the 1.3000 handle again. Meanwhile, USD/JPY kept higher around 125.50-70 for the most part despite some jawboning by Japanese officials.
In the equities space, European stocks are staying more sluggish following the drop in Wall Street yesterday. But losses have been trimmed as US futures have also pushed a little higher, with S&P 500 futures covering a 0.6% drop early on to be up by 0.1% now.
Could this all be pointing to some positioning play for a softer US CPI report? Perhaps. But we'll see come 1230 GMT.
