Global Markets:
- Asian stock markets: Shanghai Composite fell 0.25 %, Hang Seng declined 0.45 %, ASX 200 lost 0.10 %
- Commodities: Gold at $1282 (+0.65 %), Silver at $17.47 (+1.00 %), WTI Oil at $44.70 (+2.10 %), Brent Oil at $45.35 (+1.60 %)
- Rates: US 10 year yield at 1.78, UK 10 year yield at 1.52, German 10 year yield at 0.20
News & Data:
- China Caixin Services PMI (Apr): 51.8 (prev 52.2)
- China Caixin Composite PMI (Apr): 50.8 (prev 51.3)
- Australia Retail Sales (MoM) Mar: 0.4% (exp 0.3% prev 0.0%)
- Australia Retail Sales Ex-Inflation (QoQ) Q1: 0.5% (exp 0.7% prev 0.6%)
- Australia Trade Balance (Mar): AUD -2163mln (AUD -2900mln prev AUD -3410mln)
- Australia HIA New Home Sales (MoM) Mar: 8.9% (prev -5.3%)
- Hong Kong Nikkei PMI (Apr): 45.3 (prev 45.5)
- Singapore Nikkei PMI (Apr): 49.4 (prev 52.0)
- PBoC Fixes Yuan At 6.5128 (prev 6.4943)
Markets Update:
After high volatility on Monday and Tuesday, markets have calmed down and in Asia, price action in the major pairs was quiet. EUR/USD traded 1.1482-93, while GBP/USD was caught in a 1.4491-1.4520 range. Renewed Brexit worries and weak UK econ data have put the British Pound under pressure and it is down almost 300 pips from Tuesday's high at 1.4718.
USD/JPY started the new trading around 106.95 and rallied to a high of 107.20. It consolidated between 106.88 and 107.20 for the rest of the session. The commodity currencies bounced slightly, with AUD/USD rising from 0.7460 to 0.7495 and NZD/USD from 0.6860 to 0.69 overnight. The Australian Dollar was supported by better than expected retail sales and trade data.
Upcoming Events:
- 08:30 BST – UK Halifax House Price Index
- 09:00 BST – ECB Economic Bulletin
- 09:10 BST – Euro Zone Retail PMI
- 09:30 BST – UK Services PMI
- 13:30 BST – US Initial Jobless Claims
- 13:30 BST – Canadian Building Permits
- 16:30 BST – FOMC Member Bullard speaks
