Forex news from the European trading session - 28 May 2021
Headlines:
- UK MHRA approves Janssen COVID-19 for use
- Reminder: It will be a long weekend up ahead for the UK, US
- France May preliminary CPI +1.4% vs +1.4% y/y expected
- France Q1 final GDP -0.1% vs +0.4% q/q prelim
- ECB's Schnabel on yields: This is precisely what we would expect and want to see
- Germany April import price index +1.4% vs +1.0% m/m expected
- BOJ's Kuroda: ETF purchases still needed, not considering stopping them for now
- Germany reports 7,380 new coronavirus cases, 192 deaths in latest update today
Markets:
- USD leads, NZD lags on the day
- European equities higher; S&P 500 futures up 0.4%
- US 10-year yields flat at 1.606%
- Gold down 0.3% to $1,891.20
- WTI up 0.7% to $67.30
- Bitcoin down 8% to $35,340
The dollar was the star performer in European trading as it gained a little before extending the move late on as we await US PCE data later in the day.
There was no fresh catalyst but this continues with the month-end theme this week, though there are also technical considerations to take note of.
EUR/USD failed to hang on above 1.2200 while GBP/USD failed to keep with a break above 1.4200 and the post-RBNZ momentum in NZD/USD has also faltered upon meeting resistance at 0.7300-05 this week.
On the former two, just be mindful of key expiries providing a bit of a ceiling so far today alongside the USD/JPY one at 110.00 perhaps.
Meanwhile, NZD/USD is down by nearly 1% as the pair falls from 0.7280 to 0.7220 during the session as sellers keep with the push below 0.7300-05 for now.
Elsewhere, equities are keeping firmer with US futures also settling higher while Treasury yields are near flat as the bond market remains tentative ahead of the US PCE data.
Just be mindful that it will be a long weekend in the US and UK up ahead. That may make things a bit more tricky to navigate later alongside possible month-end proceedings.
