Forex news from the European morning session - 18 March 2019
Headlines:
- Saudi oil minister: OPEC+ needs a few months to drain excess inventory
- OPEC+ JMMC statement: Next meeting to be held in Jeddah in May
- Eurozone January trade balance €17.0 billion vs €15.0 billion expected
- Brexit: DUP reportedly said not to be "bounced" into any decision in talks with government
- China says country's foreign trade situation is becoming more uncertain
- Some BOJ officials said to see price goal out of reach through 2021 - report
Markets:
- AUD leads, GBP lags on the day
- European equities mixed; E-minis up 0.1%
- US 10-year yields up 1.3 bps to 2.60%
- Gold up 0.2% to $1,304.76
- WTI up 0.1% to $58.56
- Bitcoin up 1.5% to $3,956
It was a quiet session in terms of notable headlines and there wasn't much movement in the currencies space altogether as well. The dollar is a little weaker across the board alongside the Japanese yen as US equity futures traded steadily and risk sentiment was slightly more buoyed during Asian trading with Chinese equities rising by more than 2%.
The aussie is leading gains as the currency benefited from rising iron ore prices as well as slightly improved yields spread against the dollar compared to last week, among other things. AUD/USD ranged between 0.7105-20 throughout the session as buyers continue to keep the pair bid above the 0.7100 handle.
The euro also took advantage of a weaker dollar as price broke free of the 1.1300-25 range from last Friday (which was dictated by large expiries at the time) and buyers are looking to test the 100-day moving average @ 1.1367. The pair gained from 1.1330 levels to near 1.1360 currently ahead of North American trading.
The pound was the loser of the European morning as it dipped as markets await further Brexit developments with regards to May's third meaningful vote. As it stands, there's doubts about whether the government can convince the DUP to change their minds but also the potential for European leaders to scupper a possible extension over the next few days.
Cable dipped from 1.3280 levels to a low of 1.3228 before finding some support near the 100-hour moving average to bounce back to 1.3260 levels currently.
Looking ahead, there isn't much on the economic calendar to start the week so expect trading to center more on the ebb and flow today. But fret not, there will be a host of central bank meetings to spice up the week with the FOMC meeting on Wednesday set to steal the focus in the coming 48 hours.
