Summary:
- GBP remains the weakest currency in the G10 basket as PM May faces growing oppositions in her own party and prospects of Brexit talks are still murky
- Despite positive opening European indices turn into the red following negative sentiment from Asian markets
- Bitcoin (BTCUSD on xStation5) tries to recoup its losses after the latest slump
British pound has got off the new trading week on the wrong foot sliding over 0,7% against the US dollar and losing vs almost all major currencies. The reason for that was rising political turmoil – undermined position of PM May during though Brexit negotiations has concerned investors. Moreover, the European stock markets remain vulnerable and now most of indices are declining, whilst bonds are ascending. As far as cryptocurrencies are concerned, it’s worth mentioning that Bitcoin has erased a large part of its latest losses.
The new week started with the weaker pound which was driving lower on the back of growing opposition which PM Theresa May faces in the Parliament. There were some revelations during the weekend that as much as 40 Conservative members of the British Parliament agreed to sign a letter of no-confidence. These unpleasant remarks from the British political scene came as the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said during the past weekend that the block was drawing up contingency plans for the possible collapse of Britiain’s departure talks. As a result, the British pound is under severe pressure in early trading and it’s losing almost 0,80% against the US dollar.
It was the hectic weekend on the cryptocurrency market as one could have been noticed gargantuan moves on Bitcoin and its new version as well. First and foremost, the long-awaited launch of Bitcoin Gold took place on Sunday when developers for the project published software for the breakaway cryptocurrency. The price of Bitcoin had four successive drops in a row which brought the virtual currency down nearby a relevant support area. Nevertheless, at present BTCUSD is trading slightly above 6,500 USD mark.
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) unveiled its monthly update on trends among grains which turned out to be conducive to wheat prices but less upbeat for corn prices while soybean did not react significantly. However, it’s worth looking at the latest fundamental developments in the agriculture commodities.
This week is going to be dominated by inflation reports coming from the major economies. As it’s good known this kind of the data is one of the most crucial as far as the currency market is concerned, hence it’s obvious that many currencies in the G10 basket could be exposed to heightened volatility. On top of this we ought to prepared for another leak related to the US tax plan as it seems to be uninterruptedly the hot topic. Nevertheless, Monday calendar is quite calm as there are no readings of note except a few speeches of central banks.