Forex news from the European trading session - 6 April 2020
Headlines:
- UK Cabinet said to be postponed tomorrow
- Germany said to outline proposal with requirements to ease lockdown restrictions
- Russia says that OPEC+ meeting was postponed due to technical reasons
- Spain sees fourth straight drop in daily coronavirus cases, deaths
- Austria says general lockdown measures will be extended until the end of April
- Japan PM Abe calls for state of emergency declarations in Tokyo, Osaka
- SNB total sight deposits w.e. 3 April CHF 627.2 bn vs CHF 620.5 bn prior
- UK's Jenrick: I've heard Johnson is doing well
- RKI reports fourth straight drop in daily rate of new coronavirus infections in Germany
- Thailand reports fewest number of daily coronavirus cases in over two weeks
- Oil keeps lower to start the week after delay of OPEC+ meeting
Markets:
- AUD leads, JPY lags on the day
- European equities higher; E-minis up 3.8%
- US 10-year yields up 5.5 bps to 0.65%
- Gold up 1.3% to $1,642.25
- WTI down 2.7% to $27.57
- Bitcoin up 5.9% to $7,101
The market is starting to see a faint ray of light at the end of the tunnel, as the coronavirus trajectory starts to take a turn for the better over the weekend.
The global death count is starting to level off while the number of daily cases and deaths in major hot spots - especially Europe - is starting to see further moderation.
That is keeping spirits high to start the week with European equities gaining strongly and US futures also keeping near 4% gains during the session.
That is helping to underpin yen pairs with USD/JPY trading up to 109.30 before easing back slightly to 108.90 currently. The aussie and kiwi also stays more bid with the former rising from 0.6030 to 0.6080 against the greenback.
The dollar itself was steady as it kept around 1.0800 against the euro, while cable flip flopped around the 1.2300 handle on news of UK prime minister Johnson's hospitalisation.
Hope is proving to be the tonic for investors to get the week going but the change in coronavirus trajectory needs to be put into context.
The "cure" to the problem largely comes from extensive lockdown measures. This just shows that it is only starting to work. Hence, there is still a long battle ahead.
Sure, hope can be enough to fuel some short-term optimism. But the reality will eventually kick back in and it may not look all too pretty all things considered.