Dollar dominance was the name of the game, as risk-off sentiment lifted the safe-haven currency across the board while dragging commodities south.
However, stronger than expected inflation data gave the Australian dollar a fighting chance.
Read on to see how the rest of the major currencies and asset classes fare!
Titles:
- Australia’s headline MI index for May remained flat
- Australia’s headline consumer price index May: 4.0% y/y (3.8% expected, 3.6% previous)
- GfK German Consumer Climate Index for June: -21.8 (-19.4 expected, -21.0 previous)
- UBS Swiss Economic Prospects Index for May: 17.5 (previously 18.2)
- Bank of England sales in May: -24 (+1 expected, +8 previous)
- New home sales in the United States May: 619K (636K expected, previous reading upgraded from 634K to 698K)
- EIA Crude Oil Inventories: +3.6 million barrels (-2.6 million barrels expected, -2.5 million barrels previously)
- Japanese retail sales in May: 3.0% y/y (2.0% expected, previous reading decreased from 2.4% to 2.0%)
Broad market price movement:
Risk sentiment and dollar strength appear to be the main driving forces in financial markets in recent trading sessions, as safe havens advanced while high-yielding assets such as gold and Bitcoin fell throughout the day.
WTI initially had a strong advance before erasing its gains when the Energy Information Administration’s crude oil inventory report recorded a surprise build in inventories, indicating weak demand conditions.
The S&P 500 also struggled to stay afloat but was unable to stay in the green, even after a handful of technology sector stocks like TSLA and AMZN posted some gains. On the flip side, bond yields have been steadily rising as the 5-year auction led to a sell-off in Treasuries.
Forex market behavior: US dollar against major currencies
The US dollar rose against most of its counterparts throughout the day, except for the Australian dollar which was able to benefit from the bullish surprise in the CPI figures.
However, the AUD/USD pair ended up retracing its gains after the CPI, as risk aversion took over the markets as the London session continued.
Meanwhile, USD/JPY’s rise beyond the key psychological level of 160.00 kept traders wary of intervention in the currency, but the lack of any action from the Bank of Japan kept the yen pair above this key level.
Potential catalysts coming on the economic calendar:
- Bank of England Financial Stability Report at 9:00 AM GMT
- Bank of England Governor Bailey’s speech at 9:30am GMT
- Final reading of US GDP for the first quarter of 2024 at 12:30 pm GMT
- Initial US unemployment claims at 12:30 PM GMT
- US Durable Goods Orders data at 12:30 PM GMT
- US Home Sales Pending at 2:00 PM GMT
- Tokyo Core CPI at 11:30 AM GMT
- Japanese unemployment rate at 11:30 AM GMT
- Japan Industrial Production at 11:30 am GMT
The market spotlight could remain on the US dollar today, as Uncle Sam is set to print the final version of Q1 GDP alongside the weekly Initial Jobless Claims report which tends to generate strong volatility during the day.
Make sure to stay tuned for more profit-taking activity near the end of the week, month, and quarter as well!
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