Headlines:
- Dollar, yen bid across the board on risk-off vibes
- Bitcoin in big trouble as plunge below $30,000 looks to hold
- No brakes on the Chinese yuan slide just yet
- ECB's Kažimír: Ready to hike in July
- ECB's Makhlouf: The era of negative rates is reaching its conclusion
- UK Q1 preliminary GDP +0.8% vs +1.0% q/q expected
- Switzerland April producer and import prices +1.3% vs +0.8% m/m prior
Markets:
- JPY leads, AUD and NZD lag
- European equities lower; S&P 500 futures down 0.4%
- US 10-year yields down 7 bps to 2.844%
- Gold down 0.3% to $1,847.43
- WTI crude down 1.3% to $104.33
- Bitcoin flat at $28,411
It is a risk-off day in markets in general but not without a side dish of drama in the crypto space.
The infamous Tether lost its $1 peg today, following suit from Terra's crash from its own $1 peg this week. That sent cryptocurrencies into a spiral with Bitcoin tumbling to $25,000 levels at one point before steadying a little.
Elsewhere, the bout of risk aversion continues to carry on as well. European equities slumped and are down nearly 2% across the board in catching up to Wall Street losses yesterday while US futures are also keeping lower across the board, with tech lagging again.
The bond market remains bid for a fourth straight day this week and that is keeping things more interesting but a key implication for currencies is that it is helping to bolster the yen after its freefall since March.
USD/JPY is down 1% to 128.60 levels as the yen is the runaway leader in the FX space. The dollar is the other beneficiary from the risk-off mood as it is posting a solid advance across the board as well.
EUR/USD is down 0.8% to fresh lows since January 2017, eyeing the 1.0400 level. Meanwhile, GBP/USD dribbled lower to 1.2165 before recovering slightly now to 1.2210 but still down 0.3% on the day.
The aussie and kiwi are the laggards in a classic tale of risk aversion today, with AUD/USD falling 0.9% to 0.6875 now - its lowest since June 2020.
In the commodities space, oil is also down a little over 1% at around $104 but is arguably still rather resilient. Meanwhile, silver is one of the more notable movers as it is down over 2% and falling below $21 for the first time since July 2020.
