The USD is mixed. Slow start to the Thanksgiving week.

The AUD is the strongest and the JPY is the weakest as the NA traders enter for the holiday shortened week in the US (Thanksgiving day holiday on Thursday).

The USD is mixed.  Slow start to the Thanksgiving week.

The ranges are very narrow to start the week with the largest low to high trading range for the USD pairs at 35 pips (for the AUDUSD). The USDJPY range is only 25 pips. The USDCAD is 28 pips, and the EURUSD and GBPUSD are just 31 pips. Those ranges are much less than the 22 day average indicative of a ho-hum trading attitude by traders to start the week. Below are the ranges and the avg range over the last 22 days. There is room to roam but there may also be the Thanksgiving week blues that can grip the markets this week. It traditionally is not a big economic release week. Also Fed officials tend to take the week off as well. So don't expect more of the Fedspeak we experienced last week. The Fed officials largely turned more hawkish last week with talk from speeding up the taper to moving up tightening into 2H of 2022. The worry is tilted toward risk of more persistent inflation. Speaking of the Fed, Pres. Biden is scheduled to announce his choice for the Fed Chair posiition (Powell or does Brainard get the nod).

The ranges and changes for the major currency pairs

In other markets, the morning snapshot is showing:

  • Spot gold is down $-4.58 or -0.25% at $1840.74
  • Spot silver is up $0.11 or 0.48% at $24.72
  • WTI crude oil futures are trading steady at $75.84
  • Bitcoin is trading lower at $57256.

In the premarket for US stocks, the futures are implying a higher opening. On Friday the NASDAQ index closed at a record level:

  • Dow industrial average up 102 points
  • NASDAQ index up 68 points
  • S&P index is up 14.25 points

In the European equity markets are lower as Covid concerns

  • German DAX is down -0.1%
  • France's CAC is down -1.2%
  • UK's FTSE 100 is unchanged
  • Spain's Ibex is up 0.1%
  • Italy's FTSE MIB is down -0.2%

In the US debt market, the yields are trading higher with the 5 year yield near 1.25%. The cycle high reach 1.282% on Tuesday and Wednesday last week. That was the highest level since February 2020. The 30 year yield reached 2.04% last week but backed off and is trading at 1.939% currently. The high yield for the 30 year in 2021 was back in March at 2.51%. As the markets adjust toward a tightening stance the initial reaction is to take the yield curve steeper, and then flatten the curve on expectations the tightening will slow the economy. That is how that hand is being played out in the markets in the debt market.

US yields are higher

In the European debt market, the benchmark 10 year yields are trading higher as well. Europe has potential for covid slowdown more recently, and higher inflation.

European yields are mostly higher