Market Roundup
• US Continuing Jobless Claims 3,339K,3,335K forecast, 3,469K previous
• US Jobless Claims 4-Week Avg 394.50K, 392.75K previous
• US Initial Jobless Claims 373K,350K forecast, 364K previous
• Russia Central Bank reserves (USD) 590.7B,592.4B previous
• US Gasoline Inventories -6.076M,-2.176M forecast, 1.522M previous
• US Crude Oil Inventories -6.866M, -4.033M, -6.718M previous
Looking Ahead - Economic Data (GMT)
•01:00 New Zealand ANZ Business Confidence -0.6 previous
•01:30 China June CPI (YoY) 1.3% forecast,1.3% previous
•01:30 China June CPI (MoM) -0.1% forecast, -0.2% previous
•01:30 China June PPI (YoY) 8.8% forecast, 9.0% previous
Looking Ahead - Economic events and other releases (GMT)
No significant events
Currency Summaries
EUR/USD: The euro climbed across the board on Thursday after the European Central Bank set a new inflation target and claimed a role in fighting climate change after a strategy review. The European Central Bank set a new inflation target after an 18-month strategy review, hoping to bolster its credibility after undershooting its current objective for nearly a decade. In the key conclusion of the review, the central bank of the 19 countries that share the euro set its inflation target at 2% in the medium term, ditching a previous formulation of below but close to 2% .The euro climbed 0.4% to $1.1842 against the dollar. Immediate resistance can be seen at 1.1858 (38.2%fib), an upside break can trigger rise towards 1.1919 (50%fib).On the downside, immediate support is seen at 1.1780 (23.6%fib), a break below could take the pair towards 1.1728(Lower BB).
GBP/USD: Sterling declined against dollar on Thursday amid a broader shakeout in FX markets that saw riskier currencies fall and safe havens gain. The pound took a beating along with other risk-correlated currencies such as the Australian and New Zealand dollars that fell in the wake of minutes of the last Federal Reserve meeting that confirmed its policymakers were moving towards tapering the central bank’s asset purchases as soon as this year. Sterling traded 0.3% lower against the dollar on the day at $1.3786. Immediate resistance can be seen at 1.3824 (38.2%fib), an upside break can trigger rise towards 1.3898 (50%fib).On the downside, immediate support is seen at 1.3732(23.6%fib), a break below could take the pair towards 1.3684 (Lower BB).
USD/CAD: The Canadian dollar weakened for a fourth day against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday as the spread of the COVID-19 Delta variant slammed investor sentiment, offsetting higher oil prices. The Canadian jobs report for June, which could offer clues on the Bank of Canada policy outlook, is due on Friday. Some analysts expect the BoC to cut bond purchases again at next week's interest rate announcement. The Canadian dollar was trading 0.4% lower at 1.2525 to the greenback. It touched its weakest intraday level since April 21 at 1.2590. Immediate resistance can be seen at 1.2548 (23.6%fib), an upside break can trigger rise towards 1.2593 (Higher BB).On the downside, immediate support is seen at 1.2496 (38.2%fib), a break below could take the pair towards 1.2466 (5 DMA.
USD/JPY: The dollar declined against the Japanese yen Thursday on as investors unwound bets on risky currencies and as concerns over the spread of COVID variants increased the demand for safe havens.The greenback was weaker against the Japanese yen and the Swiss franc, which are generally low-interest rate, stable markets. The dollar was 0.71% weaker against the yen at 109.80 , with the yen having earlier touched 109.51, its strongest since June 11.Strong resistance can be seen at 109.92(32.6%fib), an upside break can trigger rise towards 110.19(38.2%fib).On the downside, immediate support is seen at 109.65(61.8%fib), a break below could take the pair towards 109.43 (Lower BB).
Equities Recap
European stocks sank on Thursday, posting their worst session in two months with all sectors in the red as concerns about the resilience of economic recovery sent investors fleeing to bonds.
UK's benchmark FTSE 100 closed down by 1.68 percent, Germany's Dax ended down by 1.75 percent, France’s CAC finished the day down by 2.01 percent.
Wall Street closed lower on Thursday, retreating from record closing highs in a broad sell-off driven by uncertainties surrounding the pace of the U.S. economic recovery.
Dow Jones closed down at 0.75 percent, S&P 500 closed down at 0.85 percent, Nasdaq settled down at 0.72% percent.
Treasuries Recap
U.S. government bonds yields continued their recent decline on Thursday, with 10-year Treasury yields touching their lowest levels in nearly five months as investors' worries persist that the best part of the economic recovery may be over.
The yield on 10-year Treasury notes was down 3.5 basis points to 1.286% after hitting a low of 1.25%, the lowest since Feb. 16.
Commodities Recap
Gold eased on Thursday as U.S. Treasury yields edged up from their lows while Wall Street also recouped some losses, but a weaker dollar and concerns over a U.S labor market recovery kept bullion near a three-weak peak.
Spot gold fell 0.2% to $1,799.18 per ounce by 2:12 p.m. EDT (1812 GMT). U.S. gold futures settled 0.1% lower at $1,800.20.
Oil prices rose on Thursday, rebounding from early losses after U.S. government data showed a much bigger drop than expected in crude and gasoline inventories.
Brent crude oil futures rose 69 cents, or 0.9%, to settle at $74.12 a barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures rose 74 cents, or 1%, to settle at $72.94 a barrel.
