Forex news from the European trading session - 1 December 2020
Headlines:
- OECD cuts 2021 global forecast, warns governments to maintain support
- Pfizer-BioNTech seeks EU clearance for coronavirus vaccine
- Eurozone November preliminary CPI -0.3% vs -0.2% y/y expected
- ECB's Schnabel: 12-month PEPP extension is one option being considered
- UK November final manufacturing PMI 55.6 vs 55.2 prelim
- EU's von der Leyen: We want a Brexit deal but not at any price
- Italy Q3 final GDP +15.9% vs +16.1% q/q prelim
- Eurozone November final manufacturing PMI 53.8 vs 53.6 prelim
- UK's Gove on Brexit: I think there is a chance we may not get a negotiated outcome
- UK's Gove on Brexit: Three sticking points remain
- UK November Nationwide house prices +0.9% vs +0.2% m/m expected
- Tokyo reports 372 new coronavirus cases in latest update today
- Germany reports 13,604 new coronavirus cases in latest update today
- China state media threatens Australia's industries to suffer further
Markets:
- CHF leads, JPY lags on the day
- European equities higher; E-minis up 1.0%
- US 10-year yields up 2.1 bps to 0.860%
- Gold up 1.8% to $1,808.20
- WTI down 0.4% to $45.15
- Bitcoin down 4.1% to $18,574
The market is kick off December with a similar tone from November for the most part, as stocks are gaining solid ground while the dollar and yen are slumping.
There was another dose of vaccine news from Pfizer and though it didn't spark any fireworks, it is keeping risk trades on steadier footing so far today.
European equities held modest gains of nearly 1% while US futures gradually climbed from around 0.8% gains to a little over 1%.
The dollar kept weaker throughout the session with EUR/USD climbing from 1.1950 to 1.1986 before giving back some ground, while AUD/USD progressed from 0.7350 to 0.7373 before fizzling out a little as well.
The loonie was a decent performer despite oil prices struggling, as USD/CAD inched lower from 1.2985 to a low of 1.2943 before a mild bounce.
The pound stayed more choppy throughout, with cable slipping after being rejected at 1.3400 and falling to a low of 1.3316 before clawing its way back up to 1.3330 levels upon meeting support from its 200-hour moving average.
It is still all about risk as we begin the final month of trading in 2020 and there won't be much to distract from that as the transitional narrative (virus crisis peaking, vaccine optimism growing) slowly draws more focus in the coming months.
