Marketwatch EU & UK

Daily Insights
April 16, 2024

  • Yesterday’s US Retail Sales data came in above expectations, further boosting the US dollar and confirming that US consumers remain resilient. The dollar index rallied following risk off headlines of potential escalation in the Middle East as traders continue to reprice Fed cuts and once again get used to ‘higher from longer’ interest rates after last week’s hot inflation report.
  • The Japanese yen lost further ground against the greenback with USDJPY trading at its highest level since 1990. It was only a few weeks ago that we were concerned with the pair breaching 150, then 152 came into play and now we are around half a cent away from 155. Intervention remains a possibility and BoJ Governor Ueda is scheduled to attend this weeks IMF Spring meetings where the strength of the dollar is likely to be discussed.
  • Both the pound and euro are on the back foot against the resurgent greenback with EURUSD looking set to test support below 1.06. Later this morning we await the release of the German ZEW Index for further clues on the outlook for Europe’s largest economy, although the recent moves can be attributed to the strength of the dollar, so further downside risk in EURUSD should not be ruled out.
  • Cable remains in the doldrums, heading for a third day of losses with the pair hovering around 1.24. Data released this morning showed that the unemployment rate rose unexpectedly to this highest in six months, with the number of jobs in the economy shrinking. The mixed report showed a tentative sign that inflationary pressures in the jobs market are cooling, however the data also showed wage growth, which the BoE continues to closely monitor.

Economic Calendar

:
USD - FOMC Member Daly Speaks
:
CNY - New Home Prices m/m
:
CNY - Industrial Production y/y
:
CNY - GDP q/y
:
CNY - Retail Sales y/y
:
CNY - Fixed Asset Investment ytd/y
:
CNY - NBS Press Conference
:
CNY - Unemployment Rate
:
EUR - German WPI m/m
:
GBP - Claimant Count Change
:
GBP - Average Earnings Index 3m/y
:
GBP - Unemployment Rate
:
CNY - Foreign Direct Investment ytd/y
:
EUR - Italian Trade Balance
:
EUR - Trade Balance
:
EUR - German ZEW Economic Sentiment
:
EUR - ZEW Economic Sentiment
:
CAD - Housing Starts
:
CAD - CPI m/m
:
CAD - Median CPI y/y
:
CAD - Trimmed CPI y/y
:
CAD - Common CPI y/y
:
CAD - Core CPI m/m
:
USD - Building Permits
:
USD - Housing Starts
:
USD - FOMC Member Jefferson Speaks
:
USD - Industrial Production m/m
:
USD - Capacity Utilization Rate
:
GBP - CB Leading Index m/m
:
All - IMF Meetings
:
AUD - CB Leading Index m/m
:
EUR - German Buba President Nagel Speaks
:
NZD - GDT Price Index
:
USD - FOMC Member Williams Speaks
:
GBP - BOE Gov Bailey Speaks
:
USD - FOMC Member Barkin Speaks
:
CAD - BOC Gov Macklem Speaks
:
USD - Fed Chair Powell Speaks
:
CAD - Annual Budget Release
:
NZD - CPI q/q
:
JPY - Trade Balance

Market Indicators

Currency Pairs
Pair High Low
eur/gbp 0.85407 0.8535
gbp/usd 1.2448 1.24203
gbp/aud 1.93908 1.93172
gbp/nzd 2.11504 2.10686
usd/jpy 154.42 154.128
eur/usd 1.06254 1.0606
gbp/jpy 192.004 191.685
eur/cnh 7.72667 7.7034
usd/cnh 7.28293 7.25696
Equities and Commodities
Nasdaq 100 17724.4
DOW 37720
S&P 500 5062.8
BRENT CRUDE 90.66
WTI 85.98
GOLD 2387.61

This document is for information purposes only and does not constitute any recommendation or solicitation to any person to enter into any transaction or adopt any trading strategy, nor does it constitute any prediction of likely future movements in exchange rates or prices or any representation that any such future movements will not exceed those shown on any illustration. All exchange rates and figures appearing are for illustrative purposes only. You are advised to make your own independent judgment with respect to any matter contained herein.

About Simon Walker

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Simon Walker is head of the GPS Capital Markets trade desk in our London office where he is responsible for covering market risk in European hours. He has over 25 years’ experience in foreign exchange, working in both sales and trading.