ForexLive European FX news wrap: Dollar lightly changed in mixed trading

Headlines:

• A snoozer for major currencies to start the session
• The strong US PMIs spooked the markets. Was it justified?
• ECB’s Schnabel: A June rate cut is likely
• ECB’s Nagel: The probability of a June rate cut is increasing
• UK April retail sales -2.3% vs -0.4% m/m expected
• Germany Q1 final GDP +0.2% vs +0.2% q/q prelim
• France May business confidence 99 vs 99 prior
• Dollar selling the flavour for this month-end – Barclays
• Ofgem announces that energy price cap will fall to £1,568, starting from July
• China continues military drills in Taiwan Strait, mock missile strikes conducted
• OPEC+ meeting at the start of June to be a virtual one

Markets:

• EUR leads, CHF lags on the day
• European equities lower; S&P 500 futures up 0.3%
• US 10-year yields flat at 4.481%
• Gold up 0.4% to $2,338.23
• WTI crude down 0.5% to $76.55
• Bitcoin down 0.9% to $67,313

It was a slower session overall as traders are showing more of a tentative mood after the late selling in stocks in US trading yesterday.

That facilitated a move higher in dollar but there was no follow through of that in European morning trade today. Instead, the greenback is trading little changed and rather mixed across the board.

The euro did move higher though as EUR/USD looks to bounce off its 100-day moving average in a push from 1.0815 to 1.0840 during the session. USD/JPY was rather dead though as the pair hugged the 157.00 mark amid large option expiries in play.

Besides that, the action elsewhere was rather muted with USD/CAD not much changed just above 1.3700 and AUD/USD holding just above the 0.6600 level.

In other markets, European indices are down in having to play catch up to Wall Street losses yesterday. Meanwhile, US futures were flattish early on but are now nudging higher a little. But it is still early in the day I would say.

In the commodities space, gold is up slightly as it is hoping to find a breather after the heavy selling in the last two days this week. But oil is not feeling much love amid a drop to its lowest levels since February, with support around $76.72-92 starting to give way.

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