Forex news from the European trading session - 27 April 2021
Headlines:
- UK vaccine minister says that 25% of all adults have now been fully vaccinated
- UK April CBI retailing reported sales 20 vs 10 expected
- Germany lifts 2021 GDP growth forecast to 3.5% from 3.0% previously
- BOE announces sterling liquidity facility with BIS
- BOJ's Kuroda: Will not hesitate to ease policy further if needed
- Nomura says that it booked $2.3 billion loss tied to Archegos fallout
- UBS took $774 million hit related to Archegos, exited all remaining exposures in April
- Germany reports 10,976 new coronavirus cases, 344 deaths in latest update today
Markets:
- GBP leads, AUD lags on the day
- European equities lower; S&P 500 futures up 0.1%
- US 10-year yields up 1.6 bps to 1.583%
- Gold flat at $1,780.65
- WTI up 0.6% to $62.30
- Bitcoin up 3.7% to $55,195
It was a quiet session bereft of any key headlines as the market continues to wait on more key event risks still to follow later in the week.
The dollar held slightly higher initially but has since seen gains pared as we look towards North American trading currently.
EUR/USD held lower around 1.2060-70 levels before inching up to 1.2090 now while GBP/USD eased from 1.3890 to 1.3860 before climbing back to sit just above 1.3900.
USD/JPY held steady around 108.20-40 for the most part as buyers are still trying to hold yesterday's bounce. Elsewhere, USD/CAD was also steady around 1.2400 while AUD/USD fell from 0.7790 to 0.7766 before holding at around 0.7780 levels now.
European equities are a little more subdued while US futures are consolidating a little and keeping little changed after gains in the S&P 500 and Nasdaq yesterday.
All eyes will stay on the Fed meeting tomorrow (will Powell start to blink?) with key earnings releases also in focus, so watch out for that.
