Markets trade sideways on a holiday thin trading week
- New Zealand Credit Card spending y/y 8.50% vs. 7.80% previously
- Japan all industries activity m/m 1.0% vs. 0.90%
- German Producer price index m/m -0.20% vs. -0.20%
- UK CBI realized sales 19 vs. 22
Later
- Eurozone consumer confidence
The markets opened today on a quiet note ahead of a holiday-shortened trading week. The Asian markets saw the release of New Zealand credit card spending data, which improved to 8.50% up from 7.80% previously. The Kiwi is up 0.22% for the day and continues into the second day of gains albeit, the NZDUSD retreating off intraday highs near 0.676.
The Aussie is down -0.13% for the day but remains flat for the most part after prices continued to post strong gains on Friday’s session which saw a near-term top being formed in AUDUSD at 0.719.
The Japanese Yen is flat for the day, up a modest 0.08%. USDJPY has been trading in a range between 121.5 and day’s lows near 121.1 with no clear direction as of yet.
The European session opened with the EURUSD also trading flat. Over the weekend, Spain’s general elections saw a mixed outcome with the incumbent Mariano Rajoy’s party getting the largest vote but still fell short of a majority. Spain’s election results are likely to see tough negotiations with the left-wing Podemos gaining strong grounds. The Spanish markets were in a bit of turmoil, but the rest of European markets were largely stable. EURUSD is trading at 1.0868 at the time of writing, near the daily open. Eurozone consumer confidence data is due later in the evening.
The British Pound is down -0.18% for the day with no strong moves in the market. GBPUSD is trading at 1.489 ahead of the final GDP data due later in the week.
The US trading session is quiet with no major economic releases scheduled. USDCAD has retreated off Friday’s highs near 1.399 and is currently up 0.02% while USDCHF is trading modestly stronger with gains of 0.20% for the day.
Gold prices continued their steady uptrend trading at 1068, up 0.26% for the day and the precious metal is into the second day of posting gains. Crude Oil prices are flat this morning after a spike to $36.8 on Friday before prices closed lower. Last week, the US Congress passed a spending bill which also includes lifting restrictions on Crude Oil exports. The additional supply is likely to put further pressure on an already weak Oil markets. At the time of writing, US Crude Oil is -0.25% lower for the day.
