Market News

The US Dollar fell as a result of profit taking by investors as they await today’s release of the US Department of Labor private sector jobs report for April.

The Pound Sterling is now recovering some of Wednesday’s momentum after a kneejerk fall after the release earlier today of Markit’s PMI survey for the UK services sector.

Asian stocks indexes struggled on Thursday after a rough day on Wall Street on Wednesday which culminated in losses in all three major indexes.

The market was abuzz with news during Thursday’s Asian trading session after the Federal Reserve announced that it would be holding interest rates stable, and a U.S. delegation arrived in Beijing to broker trade talks that could potentially impact China’s trade policies.

Earlier, the Pound Sterling was trading near to the recently struck 3½ month trough but an unexpectedly upbeat PMI Construction report helped lift the Pound out of the doldrums.

The dollar held near a four-month high on Wednesday as investors waited for news from the Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting which will be ending later today.

The Euro continued to slide and was headed near to a 3½ month trough as investors ponder the next steps of the European Central Bank.

U.S. President Donald Trump has delayed the imposition of steel and aluminum tariffs on Canada, the European Union and Mexico until June 1, the White House announced late Monday, only a few short hours before the temporary exemptions for these countries was set to expire.

In only one day’s time U.S. President Donald Trump will have to announce whether he will grant permanent exemptions to his sweeping steel and aluminum tariffs and politicians, economists and traders worldwide are eagerly awaiting this decision.

The Euro was pinned close to a recently struck 3-month trough while the US Dollar steadied close to a 3-1/2 month high.

Oil prices held near three-year highs on Monday and looked set to rise for the second straight month despite dips in prices prompted by rising U.S. rig counts.

This week will see the release of some big news, with central bank input due from the FOMC, as well as key U.S. Non-Farm Payrolls data.

The US Dollar Index remained close to a 3½ month peak with higher yields on US Treasury instruments prompting investors to unwind some short positions in the Dollar even as the Euro was pressured by the European Central Bank’s dovish tone.

The Pound Sterling earlier struck a 5-week trough versus the US Dollar with wary traders concerned about the repercussions of a disappointment GDP read.

Asian markets were mixed on Thursday, supported by positive earnings on Wall Street which increased investor optimism.