Here is what you need to know on Thursday, February 24:
Russia has launched an attack on Ukraine during the Asian trading hours and triggered an intense flight to safety in financial markets. Traditional safe-haven assets, such as gold, the JPY and the CHF, continue to gather strength early Thursday and the US Dollar Index trades at its highest level in nearly a month above 96.50. Later in the day, the US Bureau of Economic Analysis will release its second estimate of the fourth-quarter GDP data. The weekly Initial Jobless Claims and January New Home Sales will be featured in the US economic docket as well. Investors, however, will remain focused on headlines surrounding the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Following reports of Russia carrying out missile strikes on Ukraine's infrastructure and border guards, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced a country-wide martial law. The latest developments suggest that the Russian military is moving towards the Ukrainian border from Belarus. Furthermore, Russia is reportedly unleashing cyberattacks and Ukraine is said to have shot down several Russian planes and a helicopter.
Reflecting the risk-averse market environment, the 10-year US Treasury bond yield is down 5% and US stocks futures indexes are losing between 2% and 2.3%. Crude oil prices are surging higher and the barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was last seen trading at its highest level since August 2014 above $96.
Trading in the Moscow Exchange has been suspended and the Russian rouble on the interbank market fell to a new record low against the dollar. USD/RUB was last seen rising more than 7% on the day at 87.40.
Gold surged higher on Thursday and reached its strongest level since early January near $1,950. XAU/USD is up more than 1.5% in the early European session, trading around $1,940.
EUR/USD slumped to its weakest level in more than three weeks near 1.1200 before staging a rebound. The pair is moving near mid-1.1200s and down 0.5% on a daily basis.
EUR/JPY is down 1% at 128.80, AUD/JPY is losing 0.9% at 82.40, EUR/CHF, which touched its lowest level since 2015 at 1.02911 earlier in the session, seems to have steadied above 1.0300 for the time being.
GBP/USD is falling for the third straight day and tests 1.3500. There won't be any macroeconomic data releases from the UK.
Despite the broad-based dollar strength, the USD/JPY is trading in the negative territory near 114.50, pressured by the sharp drop witnessed in US T-bond yields.
Bitcoin is trading at its lowest level in a month near $35,000 and losing more than 6% on the day. Ethereum is already down nearly 10% on Thursday and continues to edge lower after breaking below $2,500.
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