ForexLive European FX news wrap: Dollar more tepid, Bitcoin holds break of six figures

Headlines:

• Bitcoin finally hits six figures
• OPEC+ to delay oil output hike until April
• Weekly update on interest rate expectations
• BOJ’s Nakamura: I am not against rate hikes but decision should be data dependent
• BOJ’s Nakamura: There should not be a preset idea on when to raise interest rates
• BOJ’s Nakamura: I want to make decision based on facts by scrutinising data a bit more
• Eurozone October retail sales -0.5% vs -0.3% m/m expected
• Germany October industrial orders -1.5% vs -2.0% m/m expected
• Germany November construction PMI 38.0 vs 40.2 prior
• UK November construction PMI 55.2 vs 53.4 expected
• Istat cuts Italy GDP growth forecasts for this year and next
• UK inflation expectations for year ahead seen at 2.7% – BOE survey

Markets:

• EUR leads, USD lags on the day
• European equities higher; S&P 500 futures flat
• US 10-year yields up 2.1 bps to 4.203%
• Gold flat at $2,650.16
• WTI crude down 0.6% to $68.24
• Bitcoin up 5.0% to $102,825

There wasn’t anything eventful in the major currencies space as traders wait on further clues on US data this week to act upon.

The Japanese yen was higher in Asia trading, with BOJ dove Nakamura coming out to clarify his monetary policy stance ahead of the December decision in two weeks’ time. He mentioned he wasn’t outright opposed to hiking rates but wants to see more in the data to convince of such a move.

USD/JPY fell to a low of 149.65 early on but recovered to be just down 0.2% now around 150.33 on the day.

Besides that, the dollar is just seen slightly lower across the board but noting too outstanding. EUR/USD and GBP/USD are both up by 0.2% to 1.0530 and 1.2725 respectively while commodity currencies are only marginally higher against the dollar on the day.

There weren’t any catalysts in broader markets as well with US futures keeping more tentative. European indices are continuing their good form this week though, with French stocks also seen higher despite the political quagmire in Paris.

The main action on the day though came earlier in Asia when Bitcoin hit six figures for the first time on record. And the cryptocurrency held gains throughout European morning trade, with price keeping above $102,000 currently.

In the commodities space, OPEC+ delivered as expected in kicking the can down the road on their planned output hike. The push by three months to April saw oil prices fall in a sell the fact play, reflecting the vulnerable position that the commodity is facing going into the turn of the year. WTI crude is down 0.6% to $68.24 now, down from around $68.90 when the decision came out.

This article was written by Justin Low at www.forexlive.com.