Forex Today: Crude crash continues, dollar holding gains, coronavirus developments eyed
|Here is what you need to know on Wednesday, April 22:
The market remains damp and the US dollar is consolidating its gains after a risk-off day on Tuesday which saw markets tumbling as crashing crude prices remain in the spotlight.
WTI remains on the back foot around $10 and Brent Crude has also succumbed to pressure and trades below $20, to the lowest since 1999. An unscheduled OPEC+ teleconference has failed to yield any relief. Technical quirks around the expiration of contracts and Exchange Trade Fund holding have added fuel to the fire of volatility in WTI. The lack of demand and filling storage in the US weighs on the black gold. US oil inventories' figures are due out later on.
American lawmakers have agreed on another stimulus bill worth $484 billion, mostly focused on small businesses. Several governors say more money is needed for states. US coronavirus cases have topped 825,000 and deaths the top 45,000. US Existing Home Sales showed a significant drop in March.
Europe: Italy, Germany, and Austria are moving toward lifting some of the restrictions as COVID-19 figures continue to gradually improve. Spanish and French statistics have also shown progress. Governments are struggling to strike a balance between preventing a second wave of infections and hurting the economies.
The European Central Bank is set to discuss loosening some of its bond-buying rules, potentially venturing into junk bonds. The ECB continues deploying its QE scheme to keep Italian yields low. EUR/USD has been circling around 1.0850. Tension is mounting towards the EU Summit on Thursday. as countries clash over coronabonds.
UK: The government came under criticism of its handling of the crisis as parliament resumed its discussion using technology. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said that they are "throwing everything" at potential vaccines. Andrew Bailey, Governor of the Bank of England, warned that lifting the lockdown too early and reapplying it would damage the economy even more.
GBP/USD was the loser on Tuesday, falling below 1.23. UK inflation figures for March are set to show a deceleration in the headline Consumer Price Index. Job figures came out marginally above expectations.
AUD/USD jumped in response to a leap of 8.2% in retail sales in March, fueled by stockpiling. NZD/USD also edged higher before both currencies settled lower also as Australian skilled job vacancies plunged by 5.3% in March. Canada publishes inflation figures for March, yet the focus for the loonie remains on oil.
Cryptocurrencies have been trading in narrow ranges, with Bitcoin below $7,000.
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