VIKTOR EPERJESY
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The chart shows how several brokers' EURUSD spreads looked at-around the NFP announcement, time is in GMT. The red line represents the most scrambled situation at 12:32, when aggregated spreads got the widest. The brokers are ordered by their 12:32 spreads, thus tightest brokers are on the left, least competitive brokers are on the right. Apparently, some brokers decided to sit on the bench until situation calmed down.
Limitations apply, however. Commissions are not taken into account so the chart does not reflect overall competitiveness of brokers, but rather an impression on how spread volatility unfolded and how particular brokers handle economic events. Also, a competitive quote doesn’t mean competitive fill price. Slippage due to low liquidity and/or latency is frequent especially around such events.
The next chart shows how EURSD spreads got somewhat wider right before the economic event, how they sky-rocketed right after the announcement and how they consolidated after a couple of minutes at a slightly higher level. The y axis shows the actual aggregated spread of 90+ brokers expressed in percentage of its 12:25 value. In plain English, the peak around 500% means that the monitored 90+ brokers’ spreads got 5x wider at the busiest time.
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Editors’ Picks
EUR/USD climbs to two-week highs beyond 1.1900
EUR/USD is keeping its foot on the gas at the start of the week, reclaiming the 1.1900 barrier and above on Monday. The US Dollar remains on the back foot, with traders reluctant to step in ahead of Wednesday’s key January jobs report, allowing the pair to extend its upward grind for now.
GBP/USD hovers near 1.3600 as UK government crisis weighs on Pound Sterling
GBP/USD moves sideways after registering modest gains in the previous session, trading around 1.3610 during the European hours on Monday. The pair could come under pressure as the Pound Sterling may weaken amid a fresh government crisis in the United Kingdom.
USD/JPY slumps below 157.00 on intervention risks
The Japanese Yen outperforms the US Dollar to start the week on the back of speculations that authorities will step in to stem JPY weakness in the domestic currency following Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's landslide win in Sunday's election.
Editors’ Picks
EUR/USD climbs to two-week highs beyond 1.1900
EUR/USD is keeping its foot on the gas at the start of the week, reclaiming the 1.1900 barrier and above on Monday. The US Dollar remains on the back foot, with traders reluctant to step in ahead of Wednesday’s key January jobs report, allowing the pair to extend its upward grind for now.
USD/JPY slumps below 157.00 on intervention risks
The Japanese Yen outperforms the US Dollar to start the week on the back of speculations that authorities will step in to stem JPY weakness in the domestic currency following Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's landslide win in Sunday's election.
Gold holds steady above $5,000
Gold builds on the gains it posted to end the previous week and holds steady above $5,000 on Monday. Data released over the weekend showed that the People's Bank of China extended its Gold buying spree for a 15th month in January. Moreover, dovish US Fed expectations and concerns about the central bank's independence drag the US Dollar lower for the second straight day, providing an additional boost to the non-yielding yellow metal.
Crypto Today: Bitcoin steadies around $70,000, Ethereum and XRP remain under pressure
Bitcoin hovers around $70,000, up near 15% from last week's low of $60,000 despite low retail demand. Ethereum delicately holds $2,000 support as weak technicals weigh amid declining futures Open Interest. XRP seeks support above $1.40 after facing rejection at $1.54 during the previous week's sharp rebound.
Japanese PM Takaichi nabs unprecedented victory – US data eyed this week
I do not think I would be exaggerating to say that Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s snap general election gamble paid off over the weekend – and then some. This secured the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) an unprecedented mandate just three months into her tenure.
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