Forex Today: Dollar in demand as a turbulent quarter draws to an end, coronavirus, consumers eyed

Yohay Elam FXStreet

Here is what you need to know on Tuesday, March 31:

The US dollar has been extending its gradual recovery, gaining ground against majors while stock futures are leaning lower after US indexes rallied on Monday.

US coronavirus cases continue rising and have topped 160,000. Additional states have announced lockdowns while President Donald Trump extended the guidance for social distancing through April and said that seeing fewer than 100,000 fatalities would be an achievement. Figures from New York, the epicenter of the disease, remain of high interest.

More Is a US recession inevitable? What does the history of consumer sentiment tell us?

The World Health Organization has said that coronavirus may have peaked in Europe. The number of new cases in Italy and Spain has been stabilizing and provide hope. Spain is under more severe lockdown measures, and Italy is grappling with growing poverty in the south. Eurozone Consumer Price Index figures for February are projected to rise by a slower rate, yet markets are focused on Covid-19 statistics.

Deaths keep rising in the UK, which has changed its counting method. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is under pressure to increase the pace of tests. Final Gross Domestic Product figures for the fourth quarter are due out.

Chinese Purchasing Managers’ Indexes have come out above expectations, with the Manufacturing PMI at 52 in March and the Non-Manufacturing at 52.3. Both figures were projected to remain below 50 – reflecting contraction.

The US Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence gauge for March is forecast to collapse amid the health crisis, tumbling from the high level of 130.7 recorded in February.

See US Conference Board Consumer Confidence March Preview: Three years vanish in an instant

End-of-quarter flows are set to rock markets today and make cause jitters, especially around the end of the European session.

Oil prices are attempting a recovery after another sell-off on Monday. WTI is trading around $21, recovering from a dip below $20. The Canadian dollar has been pressured by falling crude prices and now faces a test via monthly GDP statistics for January, expected to rise by 0.1%.

Cryptocurrencies ave been holding onto familiar ranges, with Bitcoin trading around $6,400.

US labor market figures are of high interest in the next few days. see: How will coronavirus impact the Unemployment Rate after causing a surge in Jobless Claims?

Author

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.

EUR/USD challenges 1.1700, six-week lows

EUR/USD remains under heavy downside pressire in quite a dfrreadful start to the new trading week, putting the 1.1700 support to the test amid the marked rebound in the US Dollar. The flight-so-safety environment continues to support the Greenback following the escalating conflict in the Middle East.

GBP/USD hits new yearly lows near 1.3300

GBP/USD adds to the recent bearish tone, approaching to the key 1.3300 support to reach fresh YTD troughs against the backdrop of the robust performance of the US Dollar. Indeed, Cable’s decline comes amid the firm demand for the safe-haven space in the wake of the US and Israel attacks to Iran.

Gold shifts its attention to $5,600 on fligh-to-safety mood

Gold climbs to levels last seen in late January past the $5,400 mark per troy ounce on Monday. The yellow metal’s strong uptick remains fuelled by incresing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and the consequent demand for safer assets.

Bitcoin on brink of breakdown amid US-Iran war

Bitcoin (BTC) remains under pressure near the key support level of $65,700. Trading at $66,400 at the time of writing on Monday, a breakdown below this critical level would suggest a deeper correction ahead.

The week ahead: Conflict in the Middle East jolts markets

Events in the Middle East are obviously dominating financial markets this morning. The Brent crude oil price is extending gains and is higher by more than 8%, stock futures are pointing lower and the gold price is higher by more than 2%.

Pi Network Price Forecast: Core team offloads supply, weighing on PI recovery

Pi Network hovers below $0.1700, broadly steady at press time on Monday, attempting a recovery after a 2% loss the previous day. Sunday’s decline aligned with nearly 49 million PI tokens offloaded by the Pi Foundation, implying a spike in supply pressure that capped the prevailing four-day recovery.