Here is what you need to know on Friday, December 30:
Markets stray extremely quiet and major currency pairs continue to fluctuate in weekly ranges on the last trading day of 2022. Investors seem to have turned cautious following Thursday's risk rally and the US Dollar Index moves sideways at around 104.00. US stock markets will operate at usual hours on Friday but the US bond market will close early heading into the New Year holiday. The ISM's Chicago Purchasing Managers Index for December will be the only data featured in the US economic docket later in the day.
On Thursday, Wal Street's main indexes registered strong gains despite a lack of fundamental drivers. Following the decline witnessed earlier in the week, investors may have taken the opportunity to make some bargain shopping. Nevertheless, US stock index futures are down between 0.3% and 0.5% during the European trading hours.
EUR/USD managed to close in positive territory on Thursday as the improving market mood weighed on the US Dollar during the American trading hours. The pair trades in a tight channel at around 1.0650 early Friday. Preliminary December Consumer Price Index (CPI) figures will be released from Spain but they are unlikely to trigger a significant market reaction.
GBP/USD snapped a two-day losing streak on Thursday but struggled to gather bullish momentum. At the time of press, the pair was trading marginally lower on the day slightly below 1.2050.
Following Thursday's slide, USD/JPY extended its downward correction and was last seen trading in negative territory at around 132.40. The Bank of Japan (BoJ) announced on Friday that it conducted unscheduled bond purchases for the third straight day in the final trading week of 2022, offering to buy unlimited amounts of two-year notes at a yield of 0.04%, and five-year debt at 0.24%.
Gold price gathered bullish momentum and rose more than 0.5% as the benchmark 10-year US Treasury bond yield lost nearly 2% on Thursday. XAU/USD continues to push higher early Friday and was last seen trading above $1,820.
Bitcoin benefited from the risk-positive market environment and posted small gains on Thursday. Nonetheless, BTC/USD continues to move up and down in a very narrow range at around $16,500. Ethereum recovered modestly on Thursday but lost its traction early Friday. ETH/USD was last seen trading in negative territory below $1,200.
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