Global Markets:
- Asian stock markets: Nikkei down 0.10 %, Shanghai Composite gained 0.40 %, Hang Seng fell 0.80 %, ASX lost 0.05 %
- Commodities: Gold at $1165.90 (-0.10 %), Silver at $15.68 (-0.20 %), WTI Oil at $45.45 (+0.50 %), Brent Oil at $48.08 (+0.30 %)
- Rates: US 10 year yield at 2.03, UK 10 year yield at 1.80, German 10 year yield at 0.58
News & Data:
- Brazil central bank leaves benchmark rate unchanged at 14.25%
- Australia NAB Business Confidence 0.0 (prev 4.0)
- China MNI Business Sentiment Indicator 55.6 (prev 51.3)
- PBoC Fixes Yuan Reference Rate At 6.3497 (prev 6.3473)
- Asian shares, dollar, euro steady as markets await ECB meeting – RTRS
- ECB to stay put, keep door open for more stimulus – RTRS
Markets Update:
All of the major pairs, except NZD/USD, were again caught in tight ranges ahead of a busy day with plenty of data releases and events. EUR/USD traded within a 1.1330-50 range, while GBP/USD consolidated between 1.5410 and 1.5435. Interest in USD/JPY was low as well. It started the new trading day at 119.95, fell to 119.85 and spent the rest of the session in the 10 pips range. NZD/USD had the only notable move, as it bounced off the 0.67 level and rallied to a high of 0.6783 despite no news or significant data release.
The trading week has been rather quiet so far, but this could finally change today as we will get UK & Canadian retail sales and US initial jobless claims & home sales data. The main event will be the ECB rate decision at 1245 BST and press conference at 1330 BST. The central bank is expected to keep rates and the size of its QE programme unchanged, but at the same time, keep the door for further stimulus open.
Upcoming Events:
- 09:30 BST – UK Retail Sales
- 12:45 BST – ECB Interest Rate Decision
- 13:30 BST – US Initial Jobless Claims
- 13:30 BST – Canadian Retail Sales
- 13:30 BST – ECB Press Conference
- 14:00 BST – US House Price Index
- 15:00 BST – US CB Leading Index
- 15:00 BST – US Existing Home Sales
