Markets calm as risk aversion takes a breather

This is what you need to know to trade today Wednesday March 9:

The dollar continues to consolidate its gains in the early hours of Wednesday as investors move to the sidelines while awaiting further developments around the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Markets remain cautious, but safe-haven assets struggle to pick up steam midweek. January JOLTS job openings and weekly EIA crude oil stock change data will appear on the US economic calendar ahead of Thursday’s critical US inflation report and European Central Bank monetary policy meeting (ECB).

In a public address at the White House on Tuesday, the US president Joe Biden announced a ban on all Russian imports of oil, gas and energy. In addition, the British government issued a statement and explained that they will phase out imports of Russian oil and oil products by the end of the year. Following this news, crude prices continue to rise, with a barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) trading above $126.00 and gaining more than 1% on the day.

Late on Tuesday, multiple media outlets reported that Ukraine was no longer insisting on NATO membership and this headline allowed markets to breathe a sigh of relief. Although this fact alone does not necessarily point to the end of the crisis, investors seem to have become a little more optimistic about the possibility of a diplomatic solution. The US dollar index closed in negative territory on Tuesday and was last seen posting small daily losses below 99.00. The 10-year US Treasury bond yield rose more than 4% on Tuesday and started moving sideways around 1.85% early Wednesday.

The EUR/USD It snapped a five-day losing streak on Tuesday and appears to have settled above 1.0900 at the European open.

The GBP/USD failed to stage a convincing bounce on Tuesday, but trades in positive territory above 1.3100 early on Wednesday.

The gold largely ignored the positive shift seen in risk sentiment and extended its rally to a fresh all-time high above $2,070 before losing its traction. XAU/USD is trading in a tight channel near $2,050.

The USD/JPY advanced to 116.00 during Asian trading hours after data from Japan showed that annualized GDP expanded by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, compared to the market expectation of 5.6%.

AUD/USD posted losses in the first two trading days of the week and broke below 0.7300, but comments from Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Governor Philip Lowe helped the AUD find demand and capped the pair’s losses. . Lowe said it was plausible that the interest rate would increase later this year.

Bitcoin It gained bullish momentum and broke above $40,000 early Wednesday morning. BTC/USD was last seen rising more than 7% on the day above $41,000. The ethereum it gained 3.5% on Tuesday and is already up 6% on Wednesday at $2,725.

Source: Fx Street

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