Summary:
- USD index moves to highest level since last July
- Cable falls through 1.30 handle
- Oil jumps higher on Saudi minister comments
- Powell follows Yellen’s stance on crypto
- DE30.cash declines and falls back below 12700
The US dollar is enjoying another good day of gains with the buck rising against all of its peers and chalking up some pretty large moves higher against emerging market currencies in particular.The US dollar was already trading firmly higher before the only economic releases of note this afternoon, and better than forecast readings on the labour market and from a well known manufacturing survey have provided further good news for USD bulls.
The British pound has gotten a double whammy so far this week as both inflation and retail sales came in well below expectations in June. The sole bright spot for the pound seems to have been the labour market report. Nevertheless, despite disappointing releases the likelihood for a rate increase in August has not changed too much, and it basically sticks to roughly 80%. Anyway, the pound is suffering another day in a row testing its round technical level against the US dollar.
It’s been a pretty volatile ride for oil traders of late, with the market managing to shrug of a large build in the weekly DOE inventories to end yesterday with with a solid day of gains. There’s been further upside seen this afternoon with some choice words from the Saudi Arabia OPEC governor causing another flurry of buying.
It’s been a fairly subdued day for cryptocurrencies so far with no major moves. The capitalization of the whole market sits a notch below $290 billions while excluding Bitcoin this figure stands above $160 billion. What’s more, Jerome Powell, a chairman of the US Federal Reserve, spoke unfavorably about cryptocurrencies during the semiannual testimony before Congress.
There’s been a bit of weakness in indices so far today, although the declines have been fairly measured so far. The DE30.cash has been one of the bigger fallers, dropping back below the 12700 level and looking like it could post a bearish engulfing candle on D1. Continental (CON.DE), one of the world’s biggest car parts maker, has decided to prepare for the future where electric and self-driving cars may be vehicles of choice. The German company is planning to spin off its division responsible for the powertrains and is considering stepping into the battery-cell industry with focus on electric vehicles.