ForexLive European FX news wrap: Yen holds firm in quieter start to the new week

Headlines:

• Reminder: It is a long weekend in the US
• Weekly update on interest rate expectations
• BOE’s Bailey: We still see gradual disinflation going on
• Eurozone December trade balance €15.5 billion vs €16.4 billion prior
• SNB total sight deposits w.e. 14 February CHF 432.5 bn vs CHF 438.1 bn prior
• OPEC+ reportedly mulling pushing back oil supply increases that are due in April
• Russia’s Novak denies talk about delaying return of OPEC+ supply
• China’s NPC standing committee to hold 14th meeting session next week

Markets:

• JPY leads, CHF lags on the day
• European equities mostly higher
• Gold up 0.4% to $2,896.14
• WTI crude flat at $70.50
• Bitcoin up 0.2% to $96,357

It’s a quiet start to the new week with it being a long weekend in the US.

Both the stock market and bond market are closed, allowing for a bit of a breather before the next barrage of Trump headlines hit.

In FX, the yen is higher owing to a better Japan GDP data but also some murmurs about a quicker pace of rate hikes. The spring wage negotiations next month remain key, so we’ll have to see how the BOJ takes to that in the weeks ahead.

USD/JPY was down to around 151.60-70 levels in Asia, before creeping a little more to 151.45 now – down 0.6% on the day.

Besides that, the dollar is little changed across the board with not much to work with in general. The overall risk mood is more tentative though stocks in Europe are still holding up well, looking for an eighth straight week of gains. We’re more than catching fire on this one. 🔥

Elsewhere, oil rocked a bit on some headlines with a Bloomberg report initially saying that OPEC+ might delay the restart of their supply in April. That saw prices nudge up to $71.10 before falling back as Russia’s Novak denied the report. WTI crude is now settling near flat levels on the day around $70.50.

As for gold, the precious metal was hit by some late selling on Friday last week but is still keeping near $2,900 for now. Price action is trading in between its key hourly moving averages of $2,906 and $2,889, with the latter a key one to watch in terms of a near-term support. From last week: A breather in the gold rally shifts the focus back to the near-term chart

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