Today is a quiet day, with the US dollar moving slightly higher after the poor US jobs reports on Friday, which indicated that the Fed will have to keep accommodative policy for longer. The greenback is likely to remain soft until there is a notable turnaround in US yields. The US dollar index is hovering slightly above the 90.10 barrier, having on Friday created the sharpest decline in five months.
Euro/dollar is looking neutral after it reached a new ten-week high of 1.2176 and gold is developing around three-month highs of $1,843. The futures tracking the S&P 500 and Dow Jones are signaling a positive open, however, the Nasdaq 100 is showing some negative reaction.
Pound skyrockets above 1.41; Scottish Nationalist Party fail to win majority
The British pound jumped to an almost eleven-week high versus the US dollar (+1.0%), meeting the 1.4100 handle as investors digest the reaction of last week’s elections and the easing of lockdown restrictions. Moreover, the Scottish Nationalist Party failed to win an outright majority in the country’s devolved parliament. The SNP got 64 seats, falling one seat short of an overall majority, and are determined to hold a second referendum for independence. It is noteworthy that the authority for a referendum lies with the UK parliament not the Scottish government.
Commodity currencies show improvement
Aussie/dollar is one of the best performing currencies surging by 0.55% on Monday, flirting with eleven-week high at 0.7885. Kiwi/dollar is signaling some upside steps and dollar/loonie is in a red territory around a fresh more-than-three-and-a-half year low at 1.2093. Elsewhere, oil prices opened with a positive gap but remain around their opening level after a major cyberattack forced the shutdown of fuel supply pipelines in the US.
Covid-19: Germany and France still cautious; UK back to normal life?
In the UK, only two deaths were announced on Sunday as one-third of the adult population has been vaccinated, while two-thirds had the one dose. Western Europe is giving the green light for traveling this summer to a list of countries, including Israel and Portugal, starting from May 17. Also, museums, cinemas and hugs will come back into our life. Germany and France will take it slower as the number of deaths is still high.
