Morning Market Review
EUR/USD
EUR is showing weak gains against USD during today's Asian session, recovering from last Friday's decline, which turned out to be quite rich in various news drivers. First of all, the markets discussed Donald Trump's sudden quarantine in connection with a positive test for COVID-19. Investors fear that Trump will not be able to continue the political race in such conditions, with only about a month left before the presidential elections. Some pressure on the positions of EUR on Friday was exerted by the data from the eurozone. Consumer Price Index in September fell by 0.3% YoY, accelerating from the previous decrease by 0.2% YoY. Core Consumer Price Index for the same period decelerated from +0.4% YoY to +0.2% YoY, while forecasts assumed its growth to +0.5% YoY. On Monday, investors are focused on the European statistics on Markit Services PMI, as well as the August data on the dynamics of Retail Sales in the euro area.
GBP/USD
GBP is showing flat dynamics of trading during today's morning session, maintaining a weak "bullish" advantage, preserved from last week. GBP buying activity is noticeably weakening amid new statements by Boris Johnson, who reiterated that the UK will be able to do without a trade agreement with the EU after the Brexit transition period ends at the end of the year. However, the Prime Minister stressed that he would like a different outcome of the situation, but so far the parties are faced with insurmountable contradictions during the negotiations. The US macroeconomic statistics released on Friday had an ambiguous impact on the market dynamics. In September Non-Farm Payrolls showed growth only by 661K new jobs, while last month was marked by an increase of 1.489M. Experts expected the growth by 850K. At the same time, the Unemployment Rate in the USA in September has steadily decreased from 8.4% to 7.9% against the forecast of 8.2%.
AUD/USD
AUD is trading in both directions against USD in the ultra-short term, being located near its local highs and the level of 0.7200. Investors reacted rather restrainedly to Friday's data on the US labor market, because Donald Trump's positive test for COVID-19 became the main subject of speculation unexpectedly for everyone. The news of the US President's illness increased the uncertainty ahead of the upcoming November elections, and helped to reduce the demand for risky assets. Moderate support for AUD at the beginning of the week is provided by macroeconomic statistics from Australia. Commonwealth Bank Services PMI in September rose from 50 to 50.8 points, which was better than the neutral forecasts of analysts. Commonwealth Bank Composite PMI for the same period strengthened from 50.5 to 51.1 points. TD Securities Inflation data in September reflected growth by 0.1% MoM and 1.3% YoY, which was in line with previous estimates.
USD/JPY
USD is gaining strength against JPY during today's Asian session. The instrument adds about 0.23% and is testing the level of 105.60 for a breakout. USD again received an impulse to grow as a safe-haven currency after Donald Trump tested positive for coronavirus, which became the main topic of speculation at the end of last week. Japanese statistics, published on Friday, failed to provide significant support to JPY. The Unemployment Rate in August rose from 2.9% to 3.0%, which was expected. Jobs / Applicants Ratio in August decreased from 1.08 to 1.04 against the forecast of 1.05. At the same time, the Consumer Confidence Index in September rose from 29.3 to 32.7 points, which, however, did not meet investors' expectations at 33.8 points.
XAU/USD
Gold prices are declining during today's Asian session, developing a correctional decline since last Friday, when the instrument retreated from its local highs since September 22. The appearance of "bearish" trend was facilitated by the corrective sentiment in the market, which intensified at the end of last week with the unexpected message about Donald Trump's positive test for coronavirus. Now investors are trying to predict the possible consequences of the forced quarantine of the US President, which is especially important on the eve of the presidential election, which is only a month away. Trump's rival for the presidency, Joe Biden, has also drawn attention in this regard. Analysts do not exclude the possibility of postponing the elections in the event of a hypothetical infection of Biden.
EUR/USD
EUR is showing weak gains against USD during today's Asian session, recovering from last Friday's decline, which turned out to be quite rich in various news drivers. First of all, the markets discussed Donald Trump's sudden quarantine in connection with a positive test for COVID-19. Investors fear that Trump will not be able to continue the political race in such conditions, with only about a month left before the presidential elections. Some pressure on the positions of EUR on Friday was exerted by the data from the eurozone. Consumer Price Index in September fell by 0.3% YoY, accelerating from the previous decrease by 0.2% YoY. Core Consumer Price Index for the same period decelerated from +0.4% YoY to +0.2% YoY, while forecasts assumed its growth to +0.5% YoY. On Monday, investors are focused on the European statistics on Markit Services PMI, as well as the August data on the dynamics of Retail Sales in the euro area.
GBP/USD
GBP is showing flat dynamics of trading during today's morning session, maintaining a weak "bullish" advantage, preserved from last week. GBP buying activity is noticeably weakening amid new statements by Boris Johnson, who reiterated that the UK will be able to do without a trade agreement with the EU after the Brexit transition period ends at the end of the year. However, the Prime Minister stressed that he would like a different outcome of the situation, but so far the parties are faced with insurmountable contradictions during the negotiations. The US macroeconomic statistics released on Friday had an ambiguous impact on the market dynamics. In September Non-Farm Payrolls showed growth only by 661K new jobs, while last month was marked by an increase of 1.489M. Experts expected the growth by 850K. At the same time, the Unemployment Rate in the USA in September has steadily decreased from 8.4% to 7.9% against the forecast of 8.2%.
AUD/USD
AUD is trading in both directions against USD in the ultra-short term, being located near its local highs and the level of 0.7200. Investors reacted rather restrainedly to Friday's data on the US labor market, because Donald Trump's positive test for COVID-19 became the main subject of speculation unexpectedly for everyone. The news of the US President's illness increased the uncertainty ahead of the upcoming November elections, and helped to reduce the demand for risky assets. Moderate support for AUD at the beginning of the week is provided by macroeconomic statistics from Australia. Commonwealth Bank Services PMI in September rose from 50 to 50.8 points, which was better than the neutral forecasts of analysts. Commonwealth Bank Composite PMI for the same period strengthened from 50.5 to 51.1 points. TD Securities Inflation data in September reflected growth by 0.1% MoM and 1.3% YoY, which was in line with previous estimates.
USD/JPY
USD is gaining strength against JPY during today's Asian session. The instrument adds about 0.23% and is testing the level of 105.60 for a breakout. USD again received an impulse to grow as a safe-haven currency after Donald Trump tested positive for coronavirus, which became the main topic of speculation at the end of last week. Japanese statistics, published on Friday, failed to provide significant support to JPY. The Unemployment Rate in August rose from 2.9% to 3.0%, which was expected. Jobs / Applicants Ratio in August decreased from 1.08 to 1.04 against the forecast of 1.05. At the same time, the Consumer Confidence Index in September rose from 29.3 to 32.7 points, which, however, did not meet investors' expectations at 33.8 points.
XAU/USD
Gold prices are declining during today's Asian session, developing a correctional decline since last Friday, when the instrument retreated from its local highs since September 22. The appearance of "bearish" trend was facilitated by the corrective sentiment in the market, which intensified at the end of last week with the unexpected message about Donald Trump's positive test for coronavirus. Now investors are trying to predict the possible consequences of the forced quarantine of the US President, which is especially important on the eve of the presidential election, which is only a month away. Trump's rival for the presidency, Joe Biden, has also drawn attention in this regard. Analysts do not exclude the possibility of postponing the elections in the event of a hypothetical infection of Biden.