Forex news from the European trading session - 1 February 2021

Headlines:

Markets:

  • GBP leads, CHF lags on the day
  • European equities higher; E-minis up 1.0%
  • US 10-year yields up 1 bps to 1.075%
  • Gold up 0.9% to $1,864.24
  • Silver up 9.5% to $29.55
  • WTI up 1.0% to $52.75
  • Bitcoin up 5.2% to $34,288
EOD 01-02

All that glitters is not gold, figuratively speaking. The main talk of the town as we start the week is the surge in silver, as the retail trading frenzy sparked a flurry of physical demand that saw prices jump to its highest level in eight years.

Silver briefly hit above $30 for the first time since 2013 but is still keeping around 9-10% gains ahead of North American trading, after rising from $28.30 in early trading.

FX remains mostly as the sideshow to start the new year, though the dollar is keeping steadier throughout as the euro slumps amid a fall in EUR/GBP towards 0.8800.

The dollar is holding up despite risk appetite bouncing back after the Friday slump, with US futures turning around a 1% decline at the start of the day to be higher by 1% now.

EUR/USD eased from 1.2130 to 1.2070, nearing a test of key support @ 1.2059-63 as EUR/GBP threatens a break below its key weekly moving averages @ 0.8838-42.

Inadvertently, that is keeping the pound underpinned with GBP/USD sticking around 1.3715-40 levels throughout the session.

Meanwhile, commodity currencies are a touch lower against the greenback but nothing too notable as they keep higher relative to opening levels.

It is still all about the retail trading frenzy as we get into the new week and with the focus turning away from short squeezes in stocks, broader market sentiment is picking up; although shorts in general were barely existent to begin with (h/t @ TheStalwart).

Short

Silver testing key resistance from the August highs and $30 is also one to watch as a jump of 19% in just three days may warrant some caution of a sharp pullback. Otherwise, a break of $30 may yet see price explode higher in the week ahead.