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Forex Today: A deal in principle between the US and China boosted risk-on mood

Here is what you need to know  Friday, December 13th:

  • It was a long day, and it didn’t finish yet. The ECB had a monetary policy meeting, with the first one presided by Mrs. Christine Lagarde. She made it clear that she is a politician, avoiding comments that could trigger wild moves in EUR crosses. The shared currency rallied, helped by softer-than-expected US data, but there were no fireworks.
  • A tweet from US President Trump, suggesting a trade deal was almost done boosted equities and the greenback, this last, advancing unevenly across the board. By the end of the American session, news indicated that the US and China reached a deal in principle, which only needs Trump’s signature. Sentiment got another boost, with equities up, but the dollar advancing only against safe-haven rivals.
  • GBP/USD is extremely volatile, trading this Thursday between 1.3049 and 1.3229 ahead of UK election results. Exit polls at 22:00 GMT, first official numbers at around 23:00 GMT. Result set to rock the Pound.
  • The Japanese Yen was the worst performer, plummeting on trade-war headlines. USD/JPY hit 109.44, en route to 109.72, this month high.
  • Spot gold reached a 5-week high of 1,486.74, closed the red in the red at around 1,470.00, seesawing alongside sentiment.
  • Cryptocurrencies recovered just modestly BTC/USD ended the day above 7,200.00.

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