Forexlive Americas FX news wrap: No USA, no problem as the mood stays bright

• Macron and Scholz make a joint call for more integration, less bureaucracy
• ECB’s Lane: There is a risk to easing policy stance too quickly
• More from Lane: We think inflation in coming months will bounce around current level
• ECB’s Villeroy: June rate cut is a done deal barring any surprises
• The heat is on for Atlantic hurricane season
• Egyptian soldier killed after exchange of gunfire with Israeli soldiers
• Canada prelim April wholesale trade sales +2.8%

Markets:

• Gold up $17 to $2350
• WTI crude oil up $0.83 to $78.55
• Canada 10-year yields up 1.9 bps to 3.628%
• S&P 500 futures up 12.5 points
• NZD leads, USD lags

It was the Memorial Day holiday in the United States and that kept markets predictably quiet but it certainly wasn’t dead. The market was in a good mood as the dollar steadily sold off. The main winners were the commodity currencies and the pound, which benefited from risk appetite.

There were no particular drivers and Lane was cautious on rate cuts but the positive momentum carried over from Friday and Europe’s stock market put in good gains. Selling in the US dollar accelerated at the start of North American trade as some liquidity might have crept into the market. It led to 20-pip declines in the dollar and steady bids in the pound.

Gold caught a bid midway through trading on reports of a soldier’s death in Egypt due to Israeli gunfire. Some reports are now suggesting it was a case of mistaken identity and gold gave back most of those gains.

The pound was strong as it rose to the best levels since March. The election isn’t proving to be an obstacle so far.

In the crypto market, ethereum continues to sizzle on ETF launch anticipation but it ran into sellers at $4000 and gave back some earlier gains.

This article was written by Adam Button at www.forexlive.com.