Market Roundup
•Markets eye Powell's speech at IMF conference
•German Feb Factory Orders (MoM) 1.2%,1.2% forecast, 1.4% previous
•French Feb Exports 38.7B, 40.2B previous
• French Feb Current Account -2.60B, -1.60B previous
• French Feb Trade Balance -5.3B, -4.0B previous
• Sweden Industrial Production (YoY) 2.4%,1.1% previous
• Sweden Industrial New Orders (YoY) 5.3%, 8.5% previous
•German March IHS Markit Construction PMI 47.5, 41.0 previous
•UK March Construction PMI 61.7, 54.6 forecast, 53.3 previous
•France Feb PPI (MoM) 0.5%, 0.6% forecast, 1.4% previous
Looking Ahead – Economic Data (GMT)
•12:30 US Continuing Jobless Claims 3,650K forecast, 3,794K previous
•12:30 US Jobless Claims 4-Week Avg 719.00K previous
•12:30 US Initial Jobless Claims 680K forecast, 719K previous
•13:00 Russia Central Bank reserves (USD) 577.7B previous
•14:30 US Natural Gas Storage 21B forecast, 14B previous
Looking Ahead - Economic events and other releases (GMT)
•16:00 Fed Chair Powell Speaks
Fxbeat
EUR/USD: The euro strengthened against dollar on Thursday on dovish signals from the Federal Reserve boosted euro. Euro was helped by a dip in the dollar and U.S. treasury yields, after minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest meeting showed the bank ready to maintain accommodative monetary policy in the foreseeable future. The euro was up 0.02% to $1.1760. Immediate resistance can be seen at 1.1915 (Daily high), an upside break can trigger rise towards 1.1951 (50%fib).On the downside, immediate support is seen at 1.1842 (38.2%fib), a break below could take the pair towards 1.1807 (5DMA).
GBP/USD: Sterling steadied against the dollar on Thursday, stanching its losses after a bruising bout of profit-taking, with traders optimistic for its near-term prospects after a strong start to the year. The pound racked up losses of 1.2% against the dollar between Tuesday and Wednesday as investors took cash off the table after a strong first quarter for the British currency. But by 1100 GMT on Thursday, sterling was flat against the dollar at $1.3762, away from its lowest this month, with the greenback on the back foot against major peers. Immediate resistance can be seen at 1.3803 (38.2%fib), an upside break can trigger rise towards 1.3915(23.6%fib ).On the downside, immediate support is seen at 1.3706 (50%fib), a break below could take the pair towards 1.3615(61.8%fib ).
USD/CHF: The dollar declined against the Swiss franc on Thursday as dovish signals from the Federal Reserve weighed on greenback. Fed policymakers remain wary about the on-going risks of the coronavirus pandemic and are eager to reach employment and inflation goals, minutes of the U.S. central bank's latest policy meeting showed on Wednesday. The dollar fell against major rivals, while benchmark Treasury yields also eased, Easy monetary policy tends to weigh on government bond yields and dollar. Fed Chair Jerome Powell will speak at a virtual International Monetary Fund conference later on Thursday. Immediate resistance can be seen at 0.9325 (21DMA), an upside break can trigger rise towards 0.9358 (61.8%fib).On the downside, immediate support is seen at 0.9270(50%fib), a break below could take the pair towards 0.9174(38.2%fib).
USD/JPY: The dollar dipped against the Japanese yen on Thursday after minutes of the Federal Reserve’s March policy meeting offered no new catalysts to dictate market direction. Fed officials remained cautious about the risks of the pandemic even as the U.S. recovery gathered steam amid massive stimulus and committed to pouring on monetary policy support until a rebound was more secure, the minutes showed Wednesday. The dollar index which measures the U.S. currency against a basket of six currencies, edged lower to 92.39, after dipping as low as 92.134 on Wednesday for the first time since March 23. Strong resistance can be seen at 109.90(38.2%fib), an upside break can trigger rise towards 110.55 (April 6thHigh).On the downside, immediate support is seen at 108.93(50%fib), a break below could take the pair towards 107.87(61.8%fib).
Equities Recap
European stocks hit record highs on Thursday as optimism grew around a global stimulus-fuelled economic rebound after the U.S. Federal Reserve signalled that it was in no hurry to tighten its monetary policy.
At (GMT 12:20 ),UK's benchmark FTSE 100 was last trading up at 0.49 percent, Germany's Dax was up by 0.19 percent, France’s CAC was last up by 0.42 percent.
Commodities Recap
Gold scaled a three-week peak on Thursday after minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting reassured investors that interest rates will remain low for some time, pushing the dollar and U.S. yields lower.
Spot gold rose 0.5% to $1,746.60 per ounce by 1103 GMT, having earlier hit a high since March 18 at $1,748.30. U.S. gold futures gained 0.3% to $1,746.70.
Crude oil prices fell on Thursday after official data showed a big increase in U.S. gasoline stocks on the back of higher refinery runs, while demand remained subdued compared with pre-coronavirus levels.
Brent crude fell 32 cents, or 0.5%, to $62.84 a barrel by 1013 GMT. U.S. oil fell 45 cents, or 0.7%, to $59.32 a barrel.
