GBP skyrockets, USD down, crypto and metals in the spotlight

Andria Pichidi HFM

Market News Today – The overall tone in stocks remained positive through the Asian part of the session, after Wall Street shrugged off the disappointment of the US jobs report on Friday and took solace in the fact that the data will back the Fed’s dovish tone. Many Asian indices moved higher, while bonds struggled. JPN225 gained 0.4% today, the ASX more than 1% after strong business confidence data. Hang Seng and CSI 300 underperformed and corrected -0.5% and -0.8% respectively against the background of anti-trust efforts and lingering US-China tensions. GER30 and UK100 futures are up 0.3% and 0.4% respectively, alongside gains in US futures.

In FX markets, the US Dollar sank to a 2-month low at 90.18. The GBP rallied to a 10-week high after local elections provided a boost to PM Johnson and seemed to fend off demands for another independence referendum in Scotland. Cable is trading at 1.4062 and EURGBP at 08640. EURUSD meanwhile dropped slightly to 1.2150. USDJPY lifted to 108.98 as the Yen weakened across the board. CAD and AUD were supported. USOIL is traded at $65.36 per barrel, after a key US pipeline was forced shut by a cyber attack (Colonial Pipeline). Copper skyrocketed to 4.869.

Ethereum extended this month’s record run, surging more than 5% to an unprecedented $4,148.88. The second-biggest digital token has rallied 41% so far in May. Bitcoin rallied but remains below 60K after Elon Musk called dogecoin a “hustle” during his guest-host spot on the “Saturday Night Live” comedy sketch TV show.

Treasury supply will be a focal point this week as the $126 bln May refunding is on tap, and includes $58 bln in 3-year notes Tuesday, $41 bln in 10-year notes Wednesday, and $27 bln in 30-year bonds Thursday. Yields plunged on Friday following the jobs miss, but rebounded into the close as the market looked ahead to the upcoming supply. The wi 3-year traded 2 bps richer at 0.315% late Friday, with the wi 10-year fractionally cheaper at 1.590% and the wi 30-year 3.5 bps cheaper at 2.280%. Rates here would be the richest in two months for the 3- and 30-year maturities, and since March for the 10-year. Many of the auctions this year have shown sputtering demand, leading some to worry that demand for Treasuries is diminishing. This week’s auctions will be an interesting test, especially given richer rates alongside uncertainties over inflation, and now the job market.

Today – Virus developments remain encouraging and with central banks still providing support, it seems the recovery remains on track. Today’s data calendar is pretty quiet, but includes UK house price data.

Biggest (FX) Mover @ (07:30 GMT) GBPJPY (+0.92%) rallied from 7-week highs at 153.30 today. Faster MAs remain aligned higher, RSI crossed 70 and still points upwards, MACD histogram & signal line aligned higher extending away from 0 line. Stochs rising to test OB zone. H1 ATR 0.218, Daily ATR 0.990.

Author

Andria Pichidi

HFM

Having completed her five-year-long studies in the UK, Andria Pichidi has been awarded a BSc in Mathematics and Physics from the University of Bath and a MSc degree in Mathematics, while she holds a postgraduate diploma (PGdip) in

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