The US dollar started the week on the back foot across the board, which emerged the main underlying theme in Asia this Monday, helping most majors recover some ground, as Treasury yields sagged. The Aussie emerged the strongest while the Kiwi traded better offered amid negative oil prices and downbeat New Zealand services PMI data. The USD/JPY pair managed to reverse a dip, but traded neutral below the 109.50 levels, as the USD bulls lose last week’s bullish momentum.
Meanwhile, the Asian equity markets traded firmer, with the Chinese stocks leading the pack, despite the latest regulatory clampdown measures announced on the asset-backed securities.
Main topics in Asia
The return of Euroscepticism as Italy's 5 Star Movement and the League reach an agreement
On Sunday evening in Italy, what is arguably the biggest Eurosceptic alliances in Europe, leaders of Italy’s far-right League party and populist 5 Star Movement on Thursday moved closer to creating a coalition government.
June deadline set for Northern Ireland Brexit solution - Reuters
According to reporting by Reuters, the French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has set a deadline for progress on Brexit concerns arising from Northern Ireland's border issues.
UK consumer spending continues to fall in April - Visa
Brits tightened their purse strings in April, figures from payment card company Visa showed on Monday, signaling the Bank of England (BOE) could be wrong in their assessment that much of the slowdown in Q1 GDP growth was temporary.
Canada PM Trudeau: Optimistic on trade deal with US - Reuters
Canada’s PM Trudeau said in a pre-release excerpt from an interview to be published by the German daily, Handelsblatt, today, he is optimistic that a new North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) trade deal with the US can be reached.
UK PM May: Committed to ensuring Iran deal is upheld - Reuters
The UK PM Theresa May told the Iranian president on Sunday, Britain and its European partners remain committed to ensuring the nuclear deal with Iran is upheld and Tehran must continue to meet its obligations under the pact, Reuters reports.
PBOC injects 156Bln Yuan via 1-year Medium term Lending Facility
The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) came out with a statement on Monday, announcing that it injected 156Bln Yuan through the 1-year Medium term Lending Facility (MLF).
Dollar Index: Loss of upward momentum
The dollar rally seems to have run its course, the action in the treasury yields and the technical studies indicate.
Key Focus ahead
Today’s macro calendar ahead remains absolutely data-empty, with nothing on the cards from the Euroland and the US docket. Hence, attention remains on a slew of speeches due to be delivered by the European Central Bank (ECB) policymakers alongside the Fedspeaks, with the list found below.
0630GMT – ECB’s Villeroy
0645GMT – Fed’s Mester
0830GMT - ECB’s Carlos da Silva Costa
1000GMT - ECB’s Mersch
1015GMT – ECB’s Lautenschlaeger
1145GMT – ECB’s Chief Economist Peter Praet
1340GMT – Fed’s Bullard
1500GMT - Lautenschläger speaking again
1615GMT- ECB’s Praet (Round 2)
1745GMT – ECB’s Benoît Cœuré
Looking ahead, all eyes remain on Tuesday’s event calendar, with the RBA minutes and China data dump to drive the fx board in Asia while the German Prelim GDP q/q will hog the limelight in early Europe.
EUR/USD desperately trying to claw back 1.20, but German GDP could be blocking the way
Monday brings little data to the table, and the EUR/USD may be looking at a smooth ride, at least until Tuesday. German and Euro-area GDP preliminary figures drop on Tuesday beginning at 06:00 GMT …
GBP/USD: Soft Visa consumer spending could cap upside
The GBP/USD pair has been sidelined around the 200-day MA for more than a week now, which indicates the sell-off from the April 17 high of 1.4377 may have run out of steam.
Key data events for the week ahead - Westpac
The week is starting out on the quiet tip, but there is plenty in the day's ahead to be keeping a watch out for - Analysts at Westpac highlight the key events.
Week Ahead: Jobs and GDP in focus
The week ahead will be somewhat lighter in terms of major scheduled economic events than in the past week.
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EUR/USD treads water just above 1.0400 post-US data
Another sign of the good health of the US economy came in response to firm flash US Manufacturing and Services PMIs, which in turn reinforced further the already strong performance of the US Dollar, relegating EUR/USD to the 1.0400 neighbourhood on Friday.
GBP/USD remains depressed near 1.2520 on stronger Dollar
Poor results from the UK docket kept the British pound on the back foot on Thursday, hovering around the low-1.2500s in a context of generalized weakness in the risk-linked galaxy vs. another outstanding day in the Greenback.
Gold keeps the bid bias unchanged near $2,700
Persistent safe haven demand continues to prop up the march north in Gold prices so far on Friday, hitting new two-week tops past the key $2,700 mark per troy ounce despite extra strength in the Greenback and mixed US yields.
Geopolitics back on the radar
Rising tensions between Russia and Ukraine caused renewed unease in the markets this week. Putin signed an amendment to Russian nuclear doctrine, which allows Russia to use nuclear weapons for retaliating against strikes carried out with conventional weapons.
Eurozone PMI sounds the alarm about growth once more
The composite PMI dropped from 50 to 48.1, once more stressing growth concerns for the eurozone. Hard data has actually come in better than expected recently – so ahead of the December meeting, the ECB has to figure out whether this is the PMI crying wolf or whether it should take this signal seriously. We think it’s the latter.
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