Forex news from the European morning session - 23 May 2019
Headlines:
- ECB minutes: Confidence in recovery in 2H 2019 somewhat lower
- UK PM spokesman: May is in discussion with ministers on Brexit bill
- UK parliament business for week of 3 June does not list WAB vote
- PBOC's Liu says that FX market is stable, will prevent any disruptions
- Germany May Ifo business climate index 97.9 vs 99.1 expected
- Eurozone May flash manufacturing PMI 47.7 vs 48.1 expected
- Germany May flash manufacturing PMI 44.3 vs 44.8 expected
- China says that it has ample policy tools to cushion trade war impact
- China: If US wants to continue trade talks, it needs to correct its wrong actions first
- France May flash manufacturing PMI 50.6 vs 50.0 expected
- China says that wrong actions from the US has escalated trade frictions greatly
- France May business confidence 106 vs 105 expected
- Close confidante of Abe says that Abe still seems to be considering sales tax hike
- Germany Q1 final GDP 0.4% vs +0.4% q/q prelim
Markets:
- JPY leads, GBP lags on the day
- European equities lower; E-minis down 0.9%
- US 10-year yields down 2.5 bps to 2.357%
- Gold up 0.3% to $1,277.12
- WTI down 1.6% to $60.45
- Bitcoin down 2.9% to $7,609
Markets are settling into a bit of a risk-off mood as US-China trade tensions continue to weigh on risk sentiment in general, with the situation surrounding Huawei not really helping. China continues to draw a hard line on their stance and with the US not offering any leeway, both sides are still seen heading towards a full blown trade war at this point.
European equities are dragged lower alongside US equity futures, while Treasury yields remain heavy with 30-year yields having fallen to their lowest level since January 2018. As a result, the yen is well bid with USD/JPY slipping from 110.20 to near the 110.00 handle.
The softer risk mood is also helping to keep the likes of the dollar and swissie bid, with a slightly softer tone seen in the likes of the aussie and kiwi. The euro had to navigate through PMI data earlier in the session but basically went through unscathed with EUR/USD hovering around 1.1140, after having briefly hit a low of 1.1129 during the session.
Meanwhile, the pound remains on the back foot as UK political worries continue to weigh on the currency. May's future is still very much up in the air as Cabinet ministers are pressuring her to resign and even the UK parliament business for the week of 3 June did not indicate a WAB vote as it remains to be seen if she will still be in office at the time.
Cable fell from 1.2650 to test bids around 1.2600-10 before recovering some ground now to near 1.2640. The loonie is also a quiet underperformer on the session as USD/CAD buyers find a resurgence from overnight trading to bid up the pair from 1.3440 to 1.3470 levels earlier before backing off slightly now.
Looking ahead, risk sentiment remains the key in trading today so look towards US stocks for more clues on how to navigate through the trading day in the session to come.