|

Forex Today: Dollar rebounds as markets turn cautious, cryptos, gold, oil all retreat

Here is what you need to know on Tuesday, May 4:

After another positive day, markets are cautious on Tuesday, sending the dollar up and everything else down. Fed Chair Powell said the recovery is patchy and supply problems seem to slow US growth. Cryptocurrencies, gold and oil are all struggling. 

The US dollar is gaining ground across the board, despite a slide in Treasury yields. Returns on 10-year bonds are around 1.61%. Jerome Powell, Chair of the Federal Reserve, poured cold water on the recovery and stressed that low-income people are still struggling to return to work. His colleague John Williams also said that the US economy has a long way to go. 

The US ISM Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index disappointed with 60.7 points, with comments showing that companies are struggling with higher prices and supply chain issues. Factory orders figures for March on the agenda. 

EUR/USD is changing hands closer to 1.20 as the EU is considering lifting some travel restrictions. GBP/USD is battling 1.39 ahead of Markit's final Manufacturing PMI for April. 

Gold is trading below $1,790 after rising toward $1,800 on Monday. WTI Crude Oil is trading around $64, below the highs. 

The Reserve Bank of Australia left its interest rate unchanged at 0.1% and said I would consider changes to its bond-buying scheme in its July meeting. AUD/USD is trading above 0.77, yet below the highs.

Vaccines: The US could approve jabbing 12 to 15-year-olds with the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, raising the chances to reach herd immunity. The pace of immunizations is slowing and America is under pressure to contribute excess inoculations to other countries. The greater New York area will take steps to return to normal. 

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi refuses to slap a lockdown despite a dire covid situation in his country. Concerns about variants emerging in the Asian giant are somewhat weighing on markets. 

Cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin is trading around $56,000 after falling to lower levels while Ehtereum is consolidating its gains above $3,300. XRP fell below $1.48. 

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 stays offered near 1.3340

GBP/USD fades Wednesday’s uptick and trades with decent losses in the 1.3340 zone in the latter part of Thursday’s session. Cable’s weakness, alongside the rest of the risk complex, follows the strong performance of the Greenback amid intense geopolitical jitters.

Gold: further weakness could challenge $5,000

Gold comes under fresh selling pressure on Thursday, slipping back below the $5,100 mark per troy ounce. Persistent strength in the US Dollar (USD) is preventing the yellow metal from building a meaningful recovery, even as markets remain risk-averse amid the deepening conflict in the Middle East.

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.