Summary:

• Equity markets retain their morning gains
• GBP raises on the upbeat jobs report
• Markets await key events scheduled for today

The US dollar made up for some its losses which have been seen earlier, however there are no noticeable changes within G10. Two key events for today (the Yellen’s speech along with the BoC’s meeting) are still ahead of us, hence the greatest volatility could come in later in the day.

Two oil grades are holding onto their gains following the API’s report published yesterday. The American Petroleum Institute reported a massive draw yesterday compared with estimations provided by Reuters. The data revealed that oil stocks declined 8.1m brl while a market consensus had predicted a draw by 2.9m brl. Moreover, oil stocks in Cushing fell -2.1m brl as well, and gasoline stockpiles dwindled 0.8m brl. The sole worse than expected figure was distillate inventories which built up 2.1m brl.

In terms of currencies there was the jobs report from the UK’s economy which has buoyed the pound immediately. Although, on the face of it, today’s figures are GBP-positive, they could raise concerns over the outlook of consumer spending going forward as it was another decline in a row in real wages. If this trend persists or deepens, it could be remarkably negative for the pound given that the services sector in the UK’s accounts for the lion’s share of the economy it could entail even more adverse effects with regard to GDP growth.

When it comes to the greenback, the Braindar’s appearance could have sparked a fresh selling wave as she said the Fed might “not have much more” to do in terms of rate hikes. Her comments are particularly relevant because she is considered a close ideological ally of Fed Chair Janet Yellen.

In turn, the European equity markets are holding onto their previous gains shrugging off a possibility of a more hawkish stance which could be delivered by Chair Yellen this afternoon. In the morning we’ve had Deutsche Post and ProSieben among top movers within the DE30.

Evens as the UK’s jobs report is already behind us, there are many releases to be unveiled later in the day with the BoC’s being a cherry on top. Moreover, there will be oil stocks data from the DoE, the FED’s Yellen appearance as well as the FED’s Beige Book.

At the end let us present four trade ideas provided by the most prominent financial institutions: GBPUSD, NZDUSD, EURUSD, CADJPY.