Forex news from the European morning session - 8 March 2019
Headlines:
- Michel Barnier said to be briefing EU27 ambassadors later today
- Norway proposes to cut energy stocks from sovereign wealth fund investment benchmark
- EU27 ambassadors said to have been summoned for Brexit meeting
- ECB's Vasiliauskas: Central bank acted preemptively, reaction was needed
- ECB's Nowotny: Details of TLTROs to be decided in June at the latest
- ECB's Nowotny: Latest central bank move was the correct response
- France January trade balance -€4.20 billion vs -€4.94 billion expected
- France January industrial production +1.3% vs +0.1% m/m expected
- No preparation on US-China summit underway - WSJ
- Germany January factory orders -2.6% vs +0.5% m/m expected
- ECB's Villeroy: There is reason to think that economic slowdown is temporary
Markets:
- NZD leads, GBP lags on the day
- European equities lower; E-minis down 0.4%
- US 10-year yields flat at 2.638%
- Gold up 0.6% to $1,292.78
- WTI down 1.8% to $55.63
- Bitcoin up 0.1% to $3,875
Markets remain rather quiet ahead of the US jobs report as equities sentiment continue to stay sour on renewed global growth worries since overnight trading. That being said, currencies are holding rather steady with the kiwi leading gains as it pushes higher during European morning trade.
The laggards of the session were the dollar and pound as the former stays sluggish ahead of the non-farm payrolls release while the latter is weaker on the back of further Brexit uncertainty, with no backstop compromise in sight ahead of next week's meaningful vote.
With the greenback weaker, EUR/USD nudged higher from 1.1200 to 1.1220 and is trading in between that at the moment. USD/JPY traded sluggishly around 111.00-20 after touching a low of 110.95 early on as equities continue to stay offered on the session.
Meanwhile, AUD/USD recovered from its lows near 0.7000 (large expiries also at play) to push higher to 0.7020-30 levels now. Despite softer risk tones, the kiwi is holding higher with NZD/USD moving up from 0.6760 to trade close to 0.6790 currently at the highs.
Cable trades at the lows now close to 1.3060 as it falls from 1.3080-90 levels seen earlier in the day, as attention now turns over to Theresa May's Brexit speech in Grimsby.
Looking ahead, the US and Canadian jobs reports will be the highlight of North American trading so keep your eyes peeled on that as the releases there will provide a bellwether for further price action and risk sentiment on the day.