Headlines:
- Dollar begins to flex its muscles on the session
- The bond market remains a key focus in trading this week
- OECD raises global growth prospects amid strengthening US outlook
- Germany December trade balance €22.2 billion vs €18.8 billion expected
- Eurozone Sentix February investor confidence -12.9 vs -15.0 expected
- Eurozone December PPI -0.8% vs -0.8% m/m expected
- Eurozone January final services PMI 48.4 vs 48.4 prelim
- UK January final services PMI 54.3 vs 53.8 prelim
- SNB total sight deposits w.e. 2 February CHF 481.2 bn vs CHF 472.2 bn prior
Markets:
- USD leads, GBP lags on the day
- European equities lightly higher; S&P 500 futures down 0.2%
- US 10-year yields up 6 bps to 4.092%
- Gold down 0.7% to $2,024.37
- WTI crude down 0.7% to $71.78
- Bitcoin up 0.3% to $43,102
It was a quiet session as we settle down after a volatile period in trading last week.
That said, bonds continue to be sold as Treasury yields ran higher - continuing the move after the hot US jobs report on Friday. In turn, that is underpinning the dollar with gains more evident against the European currencies though.
Funnily enough, USD/JPY is little changed at around 148.40-50 levels mostly during the session. Instead, EUR/USD is taking a crack below its 100-day moving average in a fall to 1.0750 while GBP/USD is down 0.5% to 1.2570 as it looks to break out of its recent consolidation around 1.2600 to 1.2800 since mid-December.
Commodity currencies were also softer as the dollar is the outright gainer on the session today. USD/CAD is up 0.2% to 1.3490 while AUD/USD is down 0.3% to 0.6495 as we look towards US trading.
In other markets, equities are pinned down slightly as investors seek some caution after the Friday turnaround rally. As for precious metals, gold and silver are not liking the run higher in bond yields at the moment. The former is down 0.7% to $2,024 while the latter is down 1.0% to $22.45 currently.
