|

Forex Today: China tries to calm coronavirus-hit markets, dollar remains strong, Bitcoin battles $10,000

Here is what you need to know on Monday, February 10:

The coronavirus has already taken the lives of over 900 people and infected over 40,000. While the disease continues spreading, the People's Bank of China has announced fresh measures to provide liquidity via re-lending funds and soothe markets.

Chinese consumer inflation rose by 5.4% in January – the fastest in eight years and due to soaring pork prices– while producer prices advanced by 0.1%. Moreover, several factories in the mainland are returning to production, providing a semblance of calm.

Markets are mixed amid news of the outbreak and the dollar is consolidating its gains, with EUR/USD remaining close to 1.0950, GBP/USD around 1.29 and USD/JPY close to 110. US Non-Farm Payrolls showed an increase of 225,000 jobs in January, better than originally expected and wages rose by 3.1% yearly. Gold has stabilized around $1,570.

Oil prices are on the back foot as Russia seems reluctant to bring forward a meeting between OPEC and non-OPEC members. The country sees no urgent need to cut production despite a recommendation for a 600kbpd recommendation by the group's technical committee. 

Eurozone Sentix Investor Confidence is set to show a drop in business sentiment. German and French industrial figures dropped sharply in December, in publications that weighed on the euro last week.

UK: Prime Minister Boris Johnson is planning infrastructure spending to fulfill election promises. The pound suffered from fears of a no-deal Brexit last week. 

Michelle Bowman and Patrick Harker, two members of the Federal Reserve, will speak later today and comment on recent upbeat figures.

Cryptocurrencies have been extending their gains over the weekend with Bitcoin topping $10,000 and Ethereum advancing to $225. 

Author

Yohay Elam

Yohay Elam

FXStreet

Yohay is in Forex since 2008 when he founded Forex Crunch, a blog crafted in his free time that turned into a fully-fledged currency website later sold to Finixio.

More from Yohay Elam
Share:

Editor's Picks

EUR/USD weakens toward 1.1600 as firm US data revives the US Dollar

The EUR/USD edged lower on Thursday, down some 0.21% as market sentiment remains risk averse due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. This and solid US economic data pushed the pair lower towards the 1.1600 figure ahead of Friday’s session.

GBP/USD drifts lower heading into NFP range

GBP/USD edged lower by 0.2% on Thursday, settling close to 1.3350 in a strained trading session that kept the pair pinned near three-month lows. Price briefly recovered earlier in the day on reports that Iran had indirectly signaled openness to talks with the CIA, but the bounce faded as Israeli officials reportedly advised Washington to disregard the overture. 

Gold slumps below $5,100 as US Dollar gains

Gold price tumbles to near $5,085 during the early Asian session on Friday. The precious metal loses ground amid a stronger US Dollar. The US employment report for February will take center stage later on Friday. 

NYSE parent Intercontinental Exchange partners with OKX, invests at a $25B valuation

OKX announced an investment from Intercontinental Exchange, raising its valuation to $25 billion, alongside a partnership to expand regulated crypto futures and tokenized equity offerings globally.

Two PMIs, two Chinas

China’s economic data are often treated with a degree of caution by global investors. The challenge is not necessarily that the numbers are incorrect, but that they can describe very different parts of a vast and complex economy. Nowhere is that more evident than in China’s PMIs.

Ripple tests recovery strength amid steady ETF inflows, growing retail interest

Ripple (XRP) continues to demonstrate notable resilience as the cryptocurrency market navigates the persistent war in the Middle East after the United States (US) and Israel attacked Iran on Saturday.