Forex news from the European trading session - 3 June 2021
Headlines:
- US May Challenger layoffs 24.59k vs 22.91k prior
- The market may be looking to tomorrow's NFP for answers but it might not get any
- UK May final services PMI 62.9 vs 61.8 prelim
- Eurozone May final services PMI 55.2 vs 55.1 prelim
- Bitcoin nears one-week high but buyers still have much to prove to sustain the bounce
- ICYMI: Fed plans to wind down corporate bond holdings
- Germany reports 4,640 new coronavirus cases, 166 deaths in latest update today
Markets:
- GBP leads, AUD lags on the day
- European equities lower; S&P 500 futures down 0.6%
- US 10-year yields up 0.8 bps to 1.596%
- Gold down 0.8% to $1,892.40
- WTI down 0.2% to $68.70
- Bitcoin up 2.8% to $38,788
It was a quiet session for the most part but there were some decent moves across the market. The dollar held steadier throughout, keeping a slight advance but nothing that really stretches the boundaries in trading this week.
EUR/USD eased from 1.2205 to 1.2180 and is keeping around 1.2190 currently.
GBP/USD also slipped from 1.4180 to 1.4145 before recovering to keep flatter after more positive UK PMI data, though price action is still keeping below 1.4200.
Meanwhile, the dollar held a modest advance against commodity currencies with AUD/USD marked lower close to yesterday's lows around 0.7718 at the moment.
Elsewhere, risk sentiment is seen more on the defensive going into North American trading with US futures and European indices losing ground - especially in the last hour or so.
Meme stocks are making the headlines as AMC tumbles after filing to sell 11.5 million shares of its stock, as price drops by nearly 10% in pre-market trading.
That is setting up for a bit more of a defensive risk mood later but all eyes are still on tomorrow's jobs report to hopefully provide a catalyst for investors to cling on to.
