Headlines:
Markets:
- EUR leads, JPY lags on the day
- European equities lower; S&P 500 futures down 0.4%
- US 10-year yields up 3.3 bps to 3.00%
- Gold flat at $1,852.03
- WTI crude up 1.0% to $120.58
- Bitcoin down 3.1% to $30,364
The USD/JPY march continues as the pair tests waters above 134.00 in European morning trade, gaining by over 130 pips on the day – now settling around 133.90 levels. It is definitely looking inevitable that the pair pushes towards 135.00 next and the selling in bonds so far today is helping with the mood.
That is adding to general dollar strength, with equities looking sluggish despite a stirring turnaround in Wall Street late yesterday.
The greenback is seen advancing across the board, only to give up some ground against the euro as the single currency gains amid higher European bond yields ahead of the ECB policy meeting tomorrow.
EUR/USD was weighed down to 1.0675 before recovering to 1.0735 at the moment. Other major currencies didn’t fare as well with GBP/USD pulled lower from 1.2580 to 1.2515 before coming back up to 1.2540-50 levels.
As risk sentiment keeps more sluggish, the aussie and kiwi are also marked lower with AUD/USD down 0.4% to just below 0.7200 and NZD/USD down 0.5% to 0.6450 on the day.
Elsewhere, there is still no stopping the oil train with WTI crude reclaiming the $120 mark in a 1% push higher so far today.