Forex Today: Markets try to settle down ahead of US inflation data
|Here is what you need to know on Tuesday, March 14:
Markets stay relatively quiet early Tuesday as investors try to figure out how the major central banks' policy will be shaped after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) revealed vulnerabilities in the financial sector. Ahead of the February Consumer Price Index (CPI) data from the US, the US Dollar Index clings to modest recovery gains near 104.00 and the benchmark 10-year US Treasury bond yield looks to stabilize at around 3.5%. Following Monday's mixed trading in Wall Street, US stock index futures trade modestly higher in the European morning.
US Inflation Preview: Five scenarios for trading the Core CPI whipsaw within the SVB storm.
Annual inflation in the US, as measured by the CPI, is forecast to decline to 6% in February from 6.4% in January. The Core CPI is expected to come in at 0.4%.
Pressured by the collapse of SVB and Signature Bank, S&P 500 Financials Index lost nearly 4% on Monday. Meanwhile, Moody's announced late Monday it downgraded the debt rating of Signature Bank to "junk" and places First Republic Bank (FRC.N), Zions Bancorporation (ZION.O), Western Alliance Bancorp (WAL.N), Comerica Inc (CMA.N), UMB Financial Corp and Intrust Financial Corporation under review.
EUR/USD climbed to its highest level in a month at 1.0750 on Monday but lost its traction on Tuesday. As of writing, the pair was trading in negative territory below 1.0700. In an interview with a Greek newspaper on Tuesday, European Central Bank (ECB) policymaker Yannis Stournaras said that he doesn't see any impact from the collapse of SVB on Eurozone banks.
Following Monday's sharp upsurge, GBP/USD has gone into a consolidation phase below 1.2200. The data published by the UK's Office for National Statistics showed on Tuesday that the ILO Unemployment Rate remained unchanged at 3.7%. Additionally, Average Earnings Including Bonus rose by 5.7% in three months to January, down from 6% in December.
USD/JPY lost nearly 2% on Monday and touched its lowest level below 132.50 before staging a rebound in the late American session. The pair clings to modest recovery gains at around 133.50 in the European morning.
Gold price extended its bullish rally and gained more than 2% on Monday. Following a technical correction toward $1,900 in the late Asian session, XAU/USD managed to regain its traction and was last seen trading slightly above $1,910.
Following Sunday's upsurge, Bitcoin gained nearly 10% on Monday and continued to stretch higher toward $25,000 early Tuesday before losing its traction. At the time of press, BTC/USD was trading marginally higher on the day at $24,380. Ethereum closed the third straight day in positive territory and rose nearly 15% in that period. ETH/USD stays relatively quiet on Tuesday and trades slightly below $1,700.
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