GBP: Downing St rumours not helping
EUR: German sentiment not helping
USD: US consumer confidence due
Sterling
Sterling was unable to pull higher yesterday but the conditions for its outperformance in the coming days and weeks remain very much intact. The ongoing debate/scandal over the Prime Minister’s language around a 3rd lockdown and the renovation of his official flat at No.10 Downing Street may cap gains in the short term though; sterling and politics are never the most comfortable of bed fellows.
Euro
Euro’s rally was capped a little yesterday by German sentiment data that cooled some of the European exceptionalism that came out of Friday’s markets. The German IFO number yesterday improved on the previous month but missed analysts’ estimates, suggesting that the recovery is still lagging behind expectations.
Ahead of the Federal Reserve meeting tomorrow, it would not surprise us to see EURUSD remain rangebound.
US dollar
With the Fed meeting due tomorrow evening, it would be totally plausible for the USD to remain quiet today against all of its crosses. Earnings figures overnight from the electric carmaker Tesla, disappointed the market somewhat, seeing equities sell off and allowing the USD a little room to strengthen.
US consumer confidence for April is due today which could elicit a spike in risk if shoppers are shown to be a lot more happy with their lot, although given the harbinger of the Federal Reserve tomorrow any movement is likely to be pretty minimal.
Elsewhere
The Bank of Japan meeting overnight was not a market moving event with the central bank holding both its interest rate and bond yield targets as expected. A move higher in the USD vs the JPY would be a marker that the USD weakness of late is starting to fade, something that would have ramifications for all USD pairs in the coming weeks.
Market rates
Today’s interbank rates at 08:23 against sterling. Movement vs yesterday.
| Euro | €1.150 ↓ |
| US dollar | $1.388 ↓ |
| Australian dollar | $1.782 ↓ |
| South African rand | R19.83 ↓ |
| Japanese yen | ¥150.3 ↑ |
Have a great day.
