It’s ECB Day!

 

“Fortunes are built during the down market and collected in the upmarket.” — Jason Calacanis 

 

 

HEADLINES

 

Dollar slips, euro gains ahead of ECB announcement 

Gold ticks up in choppy trade as growth concerns mount

Oil jumps to 13-week high on rising U.S. gasoline demand

Wall Street falls as Amazon, chipmakers weigh

Spotify expects to reach $100 billion in revenue in 10 years

GBP/USD: Failure to push above 1.26 points to weakness ahead – Scotiabank

GBPJPY Near Term: Upside favored

 

 

FOREX

 

 

Dollar slips, euro gains ahead of ECB announcement 

 

The dollar slipped against a basket of major currencies for a second straight day on Wednesday but still managed to hit a fresh 20-year high against the yen, while the euro strengthened ahead of a policy announcement by the European Central Bank. 

The yen weakened to hit 134.47 per dollar, its softest since Feb. 27, 2002, and the euro hit its highest level against the safe-haven yen since Jan. 5, 2015, as the Bank of Japan remains one of the few global central banks to maintain a dovish stance while others have adopted tightening policies of hiking interest rates to combat inflation.

 

 

COMMODITIES

 

 

Gold ticks up in choppy trade as growth concerns mount 

 

Gold inched up in choppy trade on Wednesday as concerns over inflation and economic growth buoyed its safe haven appeal even as investors positioned for U.S. inflation data that could set the tone for the Federal Reserve’s rate hike timeline. 

Gold was also benefiting from some safe-haven flows driven by increased economic growth concerns amid deteriorating risk appetite, said Edward Moya, senior analyst with OANDA.

Gold’s latest uptick also came despite a rise in U.S. Treasury yields and relatively firm dollar.

 

 

Oil jumps to 13-week high on rising U.S. gasoline demand 

 

Oil prices jumped about 3% to a 13-week high on Wednesday as U.S. demand for gasoline has kept rising despite record pump prices, on expectations China's oil demand will increase and on growing supply concerns in several countries.

Brent futures rose $3.59, or 3.0%, to $124.16 a barrel by 1:02 p.m. EDT (1702 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose $3.49, or 2.9%, to $122.90.

 

 

STOCKS

 

 

Wall Street falls as Amazon, chipmakers weigh 

 

U.S. stock indexes fell on Wednesday as Amazon.com declined and chipmakers came under pressure after a bearish brokerage report on Intel, while higher oil prices deepened worries about global inflation. 

Nine of the 11 major S&P sectors were trading lower, with economy-sensitive materials (.SPLRCM) and financials (.SPSY) falling 1.6% each. Banks (.SPXBK) shed 1.9%.

Intel Corp (INTC.O) slid 5% as Citi Research warned the chipmaker could pre-announce weaker-than-expected earnings for the second quarter. The Philadelphia Semiconductor SE index (.SOX) lost 2.5%.

 

 

ANALYSIS

 

 

GBP/USD: Failure to push above 1.26 points to weakness ahead – Scotiabank 

 

 

“GBP price action has been choppy since the start of the month but generally confined to 1.26 on the top and the high 1.24s on the bottom – aside from yesterday’s low of 1.2431.”

“The pound plumbing new lows since its May rally yesterday and lengthy sideways trading point to weakness ahead – especially if the GBP again fails at making a push above 1.26.” 

“Support is the 1.25 figure zone followed ~1.2480 and yesterday’s low.” 

 

 

CHART

 

 

GBPJPY Near Term: Upside favored

Technical View: Long position above 166.6. Target 169. Conversely, break below 166.58, to open 165.55.

Comments: The pair is expected to resume advance after correction.

 

 

 

 

Source: Trading Central 

 

 

CALENDAR

 

 

*Times in GMT

 

 

 

 

Source: FX Street Economic Calendar

Footnotes
https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/yen-slides-europe-braces-rate-hikes-2022-06-08/
https://www.reuters.com/article/global-precious/precious-gold-ticks-up-in-choppy-trade-as-growth-concerns-mount-idUSL4N2XV2QB 
https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/oil-prices-inch-higher-ahead-us-inventories-data-2022-06-08/
https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/futures-slip-tech-driven-rally-loses-steam-2022-06-08/
https://www.reuters.com/technology/spotify-looks-stoke-wall-street-enthusiasm-amid-cooling-economy-2022-06-08/
https://www.fxstreet.com/news/gbp-usd-failure-to-push-above-126-points-to-weakness-ahead-scotiabank-202206081456