US equity index futures, AUD/USD, and NZD/USD all gained ground during the session, EUR, GBP and CAD rose against the USD also, but to not quite the same extent. Gold traded lower (sharply), as did oil as geopolitical tensions eased in the Middle East.

News and data flow was limited. We did hear from Governor of the Bank of France and European Central Bank Governing Council member Francois Villeroy de Galhau, speaking in an interview with French media, Les Echos over the weekend. He expressed further confidence in a June rate cut from the Bank (see bullets above for more).

While on central banks, the People’s Bank of China set its one- and five-year Loan Prime Rates (LPRs) today. The rates were left unchanged at 3.45% and 3.95% respectively, as widely expected. The improvement in Chinese economic data witnessed in past weeks has diminished thoughts of further stimulus to come, at the margin.

USD/JPY didn’t plot out much of a range today, steadying under 155.00.

usdyen wrap chart 22 April 2024 2

The Bitcoin halving took place over the week.