Quiet start to the week packed with key events
Following the choppy action witnessed ahead of the weekend, financial markets stay relatively calm early Monday amid thin trading conditions. UK markets are closed due to the Spring Bank Holiday and American traders will be enjoying a long weekend on Memorial Day. Later in the week, several high-tier data releases, including European inflation figures and […]
Following the choppy action witnessed ahead of the weekend, financial markets stay relatively calm early Monday amid thin trading conditions. UK markets are closed due to the Spring Bank Holiday and American traders will be enjoying a long weekend on Memorial Day. Later in the week, several high-tier data releases, including European inflation figures and the US jobs report, will likely ramp up volatility.
Over the weekend, US President Joe Biden and Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy reached an agreement to temporarily suspend the debt-limit to avoid a US debt default. The House of Representatives and Senate still need to approve the deal, which will suspend the $31.4 trillion debt-ceiling until January 1, 2025, in coming days. The market reaction to this development, however, is likely to be observed early Tuesday when US stock index futures and US bond markets return to action.
In the meantime, the US Dollar Index (DXY) rose 1% last week and registered gains for the third straight week. Early Monday, the DXY fluctuates in a tight channel at around 104.00.
EUR/USD managed to shake off the bearish pressure on Friday but still ended up losing more than 100 pips on a weekly basis. The pair edges slightly higher in the European morning and trades below 1.0750.
GBP/USD seems to have gone into a consolidation phase at around 1.2350 at the beginning of the week following last week’s slide.
USD/JPY added nearly 300 pips last week and registered its highest weekly close since October above 140.00. The pair moves up and down in a narrow band near 140.50 in the European morning. In the early Asian session on Tuesday, April Unemployment data from Japan will be looked upon for fresh impetus.
Gold price fell sharply last week and touched its weakest level in over two months below $1,940. XAU/USD struggles to gather recovery momentum early Monday and continues to trade below $1,950.
Bitcoin rose nearly 5% on Sunday and broke out of the two-week-old trading channel. BTC/USD, however, lost its traction after meeting resistance at $28,500 early Monday and retreated below $28,000. Following a quiet start to the weekend, Ethereum gathered bullish momentum and advanced to a fresh three-week high above $1,900 on Sunday before staging a technical correction on Monday.
