Headlines:
- Dollar on the backfoot awaiting US CPI data
- EU reportedly unlikely to cap price of Russian gas
- US August NFIB small business optimism index 91.8 vs 89.9 prior
- UK August payrolls change +71k vs +73k prior
- Germany August final CPI +7.9% vs +7.9% y/y prelim
- Spain August final CPI +10.5% vs +10.4% y/y prelim
Markets:
- EUR and JPY lead, USD lags on the day
- European equities higher; S&P 500 futures up 0.7%
- US 10-year yields down 4.4 bps 3.317%
- Gold up 0.4% to $1,730.43
- WTI crude up 1.5% to $89.11
- Bitcoin up 0.6% to $22,551
European trading today was more or less a placeholder as we count down to the US CPI data release later today.
The dollar is on the backfoot as positioning flows ahead of the key risk event weigh on the currency while stocks are higher as risk sentiment looks more positive. EUR/USD moved up from 1.0135 to 1.0180 while USD/JPY slipped from 142.40 to 141.90 as Treasury yields are also looking a fair bit heavy during the session.
GBP/USD nudged higher from 1.1690 to 1.1730 as the UK unemployment rate hits a 48-year low, though pay growth - in real terms - continues to slide at an alarming rate so that is something to be wary about.
Elsewhere, USD/CAD nudged lower from 1.2980 to 1.2955 and AUD/USD moved up from 0.6885 to 0.6915 on the session as equities are also positioning higher going into the main event.
CPI is the new NFP now and it's going to be a real fun one in just over 30 mins' time.
