Here is what you need to know on Wednesday, February 19th:
- Risk aversion hit the markets hard this Tuesday. Apple issued a warning about sales profits amid the situation in China interrupting the company’s production and forcing it to close multiple stores. Equities plummeted as speculative interest run to safety.
- The EUR/USD pair hit fresh multi-year lows below 1.0800 as the German ZEW Survey showed that Economic Sentiment in Germany and the EU plunged in February.
- UK employment data was generally encouraging, although wages’ growth missed the market’s expectations. Chancellor Sunak confirmed the UK budget will be ready for March 11. GBP/USD hovered around 1.3000.
- The USD/JPY pair fell just modestly but ended the day little changed, despite ruling risk aversion. Dismal Japanese GDP affected demand for the safe-haven currency.
- AUD/USD nears a multi-year low at 0.6661 after a dovish RBA, hinting a rate cut amid coronavirus effects on the Chinese economy.
- Gold prices soared, with the bright metal above $1,600 a troy ounce at the end of the US session. The metal hit 1,611.33 in January, an over six-year high.
- Crude oil prices ended the day with modest gains despite ruling risk aversion.
- Cryptocurrencies were on a wild run but finished the day with substantial gains. BTC/USD above 10,000.
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