Sunset Market Commentary

The Bank of England was one of the three central bank highlights today. The Norges Bank and the Swiss National Bank outcomes are in the section down below. Threadneedle Street kept the policy rate unchanged at 5.25% in a 7-2 vote with two members voting for a cut (Dhingra and Ramsden).

Euro on Firmer Footing ahead of Flash PMIs as French Risks Subside

European assets are having a better week following the market panic sparked by the rise of the far right across the continent in the European Parliament elections on June 9. But the biggest shockwave came from French President Emmanuelle Macron’s decision to call a snap legislative election the following day, raising fears that Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally party would repeat its success on a national level.

GBP/USD Lower as BoE Holds Rates

The British pound is lower on Thursday. GBP/USD is trading at 1.2683 in the North American session at the time of writing, down 0.29% on the day. The Bank of England held rates at today’s meeting, as expected. There are no releases out of the US today.

Happy Triple Witching Day

Today, it’s the triple witching day, about $5.5 trillion index futures, options, stock options and ETFs will expire at the same time. Given that we are at psychologically crucial, irrationally high, and mathematically overstretched levels, we could see surprise turns and twists in positioning.

Japanese Yen Trades Stoic After Closing at New 34-y Low

The Japanese yen this morning trades stoic after closing at a new 34-y low yesterday around USD/JPY 158.9. Previous FX interventions level just north of 160 are coming dangerously close …

Crypto Didn’t Dare to Grow

The crypto market failed to get on a growth path, with its capitalisation falling 1.5% to $2.35 trillion in the last 24 hours. Cryptocurrencies have had their wings clipped by the sell-off in equity markets, reflecting a downturn in risk appetite in global finance. Due to the link to traditional finance, the largest coins came under pressure. Bitcoin lost 1.3%, Ethereum lost 1.9% and BNB lost 2.9%. Meanwhile, TON added 1%, and TRON is up 0.6%.

Euro Extends Losses After Soft PMIs Release

The euro has edged lower on Friday. EUR/USD is trading at 1.0687 in the European session, down 0.14% on the day.

GBP/USD Shrugs Despite Sparkling Retail Sales

The British pound is slightly lower on Friday. GBP/USD is trading at 1.2636 early in the North American session, down 0.17% on the day.

Downside PMI Surprise Brought the Euro Closer to the Critical Zone

The European session on Friday started with a new wave of euro selling, which was supported by weak preliminary PMIs.

Week Ahead – US PCE Inflation the Highlight of a Relatively Light Agenda

Although the Fed’s updated dot plot pointed to only one quarter-point reduction by the end of the year, the softer-than-expected CPI numbers a few hours ahead of last week’s decision did not convince market participants about officials’ intentions. The weaker-than-expected retail sales numbers this week corroborated that view.