Forex news from the European trading session - 30 April 2020
Headlines:
- Italy Q1 preliminary GDP -4.7% vs -5.4% q/q expected
- Eurozone Q1 preliminary GDP -3.8% vs -3.8% q/q expected
- Eurozone April preliminary CPI +0.4% vs +0.1% y/y expected
- Germany April unemployment change 373.0k vs 74.5k expected
- BOJ's Kuroda: Will aim to create a scheme to aid funding for small firms
- China says that it stands ready to discuss 'fast track' entry with other nations
- Spain Q1 preliminary GDP -5.2% vs -4.3% q/q expected
- France April preliminary CPI +0.4% vs +0.2% y/y expected
- Germany March retail sales -5.6% vs -8.0% m/m expected
- France Q1 preliminary GDP -5.8% vs -4.0% q/q expected
- RBNZ removes LVR restrictions for 12 months, starting from 1 May
- Germany sees increase of 1,478 coronavirus cases, another 173 deaths reported
- US Secretary of State Pompeo says China has not been forthright on coronavirus
Markets:
- CHF leads, AUD lags on the day
- European equities slightly lower; E-minis down 0.1%
- US 10-year yields down 2 bps to 0.605%
- Gold flat at $1,713.75
- WTI up 17.5% to $17.70
- Bitcoin up 0.1% to $8,946
It was a quiet session for the most part as the market moved along with trepidation, amid a slew of poor economic data from the Eurozone region.
We saw record economic contractions posted for France, Spain, Italy and the Eurozone as a whole in the Q1 preliminary readings; giving a taste of what is to come in Q2.
Stocks failed to take much encouragement after a brighter start, with European equities falling slightly while US futures turned around early gains to sit a little lower currently.
That is leaving major currencies more tepid, with the aussie and kiwi losing ground. AUD/USD fell from 0.6570 to 0.6540 levels while NZD/USD eased from 0.6150 to 0.6120 levels.
The dollar remains mixed across the board as all eyes turn towards the ECB later.
EUR/USD moved from 1.0860 to 1.0891 before easing back to stay near flat levels around 1.0876 currently. Cable is sitting a little higher as the pound continues to bounce around on month-end flows, rising to just above 1.2500 on the session.
It is all about the ECB policy decision today ahead of a long weekend in some parts of Europe and Asia. Let's see what Lagarde & co. will deliver in just under 30 mins from now.