Headlines:
- Major currencies stay more subdued so far on the session
- USD/JPY nudges lower on the session as bond yields weigh
- Germany March GfK consumer sentiment -29.0 vs -29.0 expected
- France February consumer confidence 89 vs 92 expected
- Eurozone January M3 money supply +0.1% vs +0.3% y/y expected
- What does the latest inflation snapshot tell us?
- Dollar selling the play this month-end – Barclays
Markets:
- JPY leads, GBP lags on the day
- European equities slightly higher; S&P 500 futures up 0.2%
- US 10-year yields down 3.1 bps to 4.267%
- Gold up 0.4% to $2,037.81
- WTI crude down 0.3% to $76.85
- Bitcoin up 4.9% to $57,333
It was once again another quiet session as the slow start to the week continues to drag on.
Major currencies were more muted with only the Japanese yen being the slight mover on the day. USD/JPY is down roughly 50 pips near the lows for the day at 150.17, weighed down by lower Treasury yields and a beat on Japanese inflation data earlier in the day. The latter reaffirms a strong likelihood of the BOJ moving to the pivot point in March or April, although the trend might suggest that they could be a bit late to the party.
Besides that, other major currencies did not do much and remain trapped in narrow ranges for the most part. EUR/USD is stuck within a 25 pips range only around 1.0860 currently.
In other markets, stocks are looking to reset and get back to the enthusiastic showing last week. European indices and US futures were more muted at the open earlier but are now creeping a little higher ahead of US trading.
Meanwhile, gold continues to shine as it pares losses for the month and trades up to $2,038 while Bitcoin is still rocketing higher to above $57,000 on the day.
Coming up next, we’ll see what the US durable goods orders has to offer for markets before focusing on month-end state of affairs.
