Forex news from the European trading session - 7 April 2021
Headlines:
- US MBA mortgage applications w.e. 2 April -5.1% vs -2.2% prior
- Germany's Merkel said to back 'short national lockdown' to curb virus situation
- Fed's Kaplan: As we're making progress towards our goals, it would be healthier to wean off these extraordinary measures
- BOJ, FSA to investigate high-risk trades by domestic firms after Archegos saga
- Moderna says on track to meet April vaccine deliveries in Europe
- UK March final services PMI 56.3 vs 56.8 prelim
- EMA said to hold briefing on AstraZeneca vaccine later today at 1400 GMT
- ECB's Knot: We can flexibly adjust PEPP even within the quarter, if appropriate
- Eurozone March final services PMI 49.6 vs 48.8 prelim
- EMA reportedly to say that blood clot cases are 'likely' linked to AstraZeneca vaccine
- Germany to miss out on up to 878,400 Moderna vaccine doses this month - report
- Germany reports 9,677 new coronavirus cases, 298 deaths in latest update today
Markets:
- CHF leads, AUD lags on the day
- European equities mixed; E-minis flat
- US 10-year yields flat at 1.656%
- Gold down 0.5% to $1,734.02
- WTI up 0.8% to $59.80
- Bitcoin down 3.3% to $56,340
It was a quieter session for the most part with some virus/vaccine talk added to the mix, with Germany poised to see its lockdown extended while there was a bit of a kerfuffle with Moderna's vaccine deliveries in Germany - which the firm disputed.
Adding to that is the EMA set to deliver its updated safety recommendation on AstraZeneca's vaccine, likely to suggest some causation/correlation to blood clot cases.
All of that didn't quite do much to jolt markets though as European indices were more flattish and tepid, keeping little changed. UK stocks are the outlier, benefiting from a softer pound earlier and reopening optimism.
US futures are little changed, keeping flat as Treasury yields also didn't offer much after having seen a slight retreat to 1.63% earlier before holding just above 1.65% now.
The dollar held steadier and traded more mixed across the board, losing ground against the euro and franc but holding a slight advance against commodity currencies.
The pound was a laggard early on as EUR/GBP moved up from 0.8590 to 0.8620 before settling closer to 0.8600 currently. That saw GBP/USD ease to a low of 1.3773 before rebounding to near flat levels now around 1.3820-25.
EUR/USD kept up with the bounce this week as it advanced from 1.1870 to 1.1890, testing waters just above its 200-day moving average @ 1.1879.
Elsewhere, AUD/USD stays pressured around 0.7620-30 levels after failing to hold on to early gains above short-term resistance at around 0.7640-45 earlier in the day.
The market looks to be searching for more clues before proceeding and the FOMC meeting minutes release will be one to watch in that regard later today.
