Headlines:

Markets:

  • USD leads, EUR lags on the day
  • European equities mixed; S&P 500 futures up 0.3%
  • US 10-year yields up 3.3 bps to 3.539%
  • Gold up 0.7% to $1,674.53
  • WTI crude up 2.2% to $85.75
  • Bitcoin up 0.9% to $19,146

The pre-FOMC session was highlighted by an announcement by Russian president Putin that he will be ordering a partial military mobilisation, where as many as 300,000 troops could be deployed in engaging further in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

The news was touted yesterday but still caused a bit of a dent in risk trades early on heading into European trading. The dollar and yen strengthened while equities fell before the move was pulled back during the session. That said, the dollar is still in a firm position with the euro having slumped to fresh two-week lows as we gear towards the Fed.

EUR/USD declined from 0.9950 to 0.9885 before keeping just above 0.9900 now as Putin's announcement spells out more risks to Europe's economic outlook. Oil prices gained with WTI crude pushing up over 2% to above $86 on the news.

USD/JPY initially fell as bonds pushed a little higher, with the pair falling from 144.00 to 143.35 before erasing that drop to keep near the figure level again now. Meanwhile, GBP/USD slid from 1.1365 to 1.1306 before holding around 1.1330-40 levels at the moment.

Elsewhere, the aussie is staying under pressure with AUD/USD keeping at its lowest levels since June 2020 around 0.6660-70 levels with ongoing pressure on the Chinese yuan also not helping the antipodeans this week.

It's now all down to the Fed to confirm the dollar moves and if the bond market selloff will continue to run in the second-half of the week.