ECB's Holzmann: 50 bps rate hike in July appropriate, inflation to remain above 2.0% in 2023/24

Joel Frank Independent Analyst

Hawkish leaning European Central Bank (ECB) Governing Council member Robert Holzmann said on Tuesday that a 50 bps rate hike in July would be appropriate and that ending the year with interest rates in positive territory is extremely important, reported Reuters. Euro-area inflation is set to remain above 2.0% in 2023 and 2024, he added, noting that the ECB's strict forward guidance on rates no longer makes sense.

His remarks come after ECB Governing Council member and Bank of France head Francois Villeroy de Galhau said that a 50 bps rate hike isn't in the consensus at the bank earlier in the day.

Author

Joel Frank

Independent Analyst

Joel Frank is an economics graduate from the University of Birmingham and has worked as a full-time financial market analyst since 2018, specialising in the coverage of how developments in the global economy impact financial asset

EUR/USD slumps below 1.1750 as USD benefits from risk-aversion

EUR/USD comes under renewed bearish pressure in the European session and trades below 1.1750 following a recovery attempt earlier in the day. The US Dollar gathers strength and weighs on the pair as investors seek refuge in the wake of Israel and the United States' joint attack on Iran.

GBP/USD targets 1.3500 barrier near moving averages

GBP/USD rebounds from the daily losses, trading around 1.3450 during the Asian hours on Monday. The technical analysis of the daily chart indicates an ongoing bearish bias, as the pair trades within a descending channel pattern.

Gold surges on safe-haven demand, closes in on $5,400

Gold benefits from intense risk-aversion on Monday and climbs toward $5,400, setting a fresh monthly-high in the process. Tensions in the Middle East remain high as Israel and Hezbollah continue to exchange strikes following the US-Israel joint attack on Iran over the weekend.

Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple under pressure as key supports face breakdown risk

Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Ripple prices trade on the back foot at the start of this week on Monday, after extending losses in the previous week. BTC is on the brink of a breakdown, ETH is capped below key resistance, and XRP risks a crack of the trendline.

The market is paying for insurance, not apocalypse

As expected, this morning felt less like a Monday market open and more like a fire drill. Futures screens flickered red. S&P contracts down almost 1%. Nasdaq off 1.2%. Brent leaped 13% through $80. Gold rose 1.6% toward $5350 before paring some gains. The dollar is strutting mildly. The Swiss franc is quietly doing what it always does in a storm, catching some safe-haven flows.

Starknet unveils strkBTC, shielded Bitcoin transactions on Ethereum Layer 2

Starknet, the Ethereum Layer 2 network developed by StarkWare, today announced strkBTC, a wrapped Bitcoin asset that introduces optional shielding while preserving full DeFi composability.