Headlines:

Markets:

  • USD leads, GBP lags on the day
  • European equities a little higher; S&P 500 futures up 0.4%
  • US 10-year yields down 1.9 bps to 2.87%
  • Gold down 0.2% to $1,785.72
  • WTI crude down 1.5% to $92.87
  • Bitcoin down 2.1% to $23,690

It was once again another quiet summer's day in Europe with a lack of key headlines but markets are continuing to do a bit of dancing back and forth after the US CPI data on Wednesday. The bond market was the first to turn after the data with yields moving back up and now we're starting to see the dollar make a bit of a stand as well.

Equities are slightly higher but be mindful that Wall Street also saw gains evaporate in trading yesterday and that might stir up some nerves before the weekend despite the delicate gains on the day.

Major currencies were little changed early on but the dollar turned more mixed, posting a light advance against the euro, pound and yen while staying lower against the commodity currencies. But as the session dragged on, the greenback firmed across the board and his holding near the highs for the day currently.

EUR/USD fell off from 1.0320 to 1.0280, holding below large option expiries (around €2.8 billion) at 1.0300-10 while USD/JPY nudged higher from 133.20 to 133.80 levels at the moment.

The pound was in focus at the start of the session as UK June and Q2 GDP figures were better than estimated, helping cable to spike to 1.2215 before quickly falling back to 1.2190 as the numbers still point towards heightened recession risks. The pair then slumped to 1.2115 as the dollar firmed and amid a technical rejection just above 1.2200.

Meanwhile, commodity currencies also lost their allure with USD/CAD moving up from 1.2740 to 1.2785 and AUD/USD falling from 0.7125 to 0.7085 during the session. That suggests the dollar is paring back some losses from earlier in the week and we'll see if North American traders can settle on a firmer narrative before the weekend.