- US equities trade with small losses amid another bunch of stronger corporate earnings. In Europe, losses are close to 1%. Mounting unrest in eastern Ukraine spoils risk sentiment.
- Ukrainian forces killed up to five pro-Moscow separatists in the east of the country, the Interior Minister said today, which was followed by stark warnings of Putin who said that there would be consequences for Ukraine’s interim government as it launched a military crackdown on armed pro-Russian rebels. Russia’s Defence Minister said this afternoon they will hold military exercises near the border with Ukraine.
- ECB President Draghi said today that the ECB could embark on a broad-based asset buying plan if the outlook for euro zone inflation worsens and added that the exchange rate is an increasingly important factor in their assessment of the outlook for price stability.
- US initial jobless claims surprised on the upside of expectations, edging up from 305 000 to 329 000 in the week ending the 19th of April. The Labour Department said there were no special factors, but it is difficult to adjust data around the Easter holidays.
Recommended Content
Editors’ Picks
AUD/USD risks a deeper drop in the short term
AUD/USD rapidly left behind Wednesday’s decent advance and resumed its downward trend on the back of the intense buying pressure in the greenback, while mixed results from the domestic labour market report failed to lend support to AUD.
EUR/USD leaves the door open to a decline to 1.0600
A decent comeback in the Greenback lured sellers back into the market, motivating EUR/USD to give away the earlier advance to weekly tops around 1.0690 and shift its attention to a potential revisit of the 1.0600 neighbourhood instead.
Gold is closely monitoring geopolitics
Gold trades in positive territory above $2,380 on Thursday. Although the benchmark 10-year US Treasury bond yield holds steady following upbeat US data, XAU/USD continues to stretch higher on growing fears over a deepening conflict in the Middle East.
Bitcoin price shows strength as IMF attests to spread and intensity of BTC transactions ahead of halving
Bitcoin (BTC) price is borderline strong and weak with the brunt of the weakness being felt by altcoins. Regarding strength, it continues to close above the $60,000 threshold for seven weeks in a row.
Is the Biden administration trying to destroy the Dollar?
Confidence in Western financial markets has already been shaken enough by the 20% devaluation of the dollar over the last few years. But now the European Commission wants to hand Ukraine $300 billion seized from Russia.