Major currencies are once again caught in a bit of a bind, staying little changed ahead of European morning trade. Traders are finding it tough to really extrapolate from the clues offered up by the bond market as geopolitical tensions are muddying sentiment currently. The Israel-Hamas conflict seems to be balanced on a knife’s edge and that is causing plenty of uncertainty ahead of the weekend again.
Gold and oil continue to be standout performers with the former testing the highs from June and July while the latter produced a stunning comeback yesterday with WTI crude now trading above $90.
Meanwhile, equities are lower and we’re seeing 10-year Treasury yields get checked after nearing the 5% mark. Yields are now down 4 bps to 4.947% on the day but we’ll have to see how things go later in US trading to really have a better idea of how the dollar is going to fare before the weekend.
Looking to European trading, there won’t be much to shake things up again as the pound will be the only notable focus point. That considering UK retail sales is the only notable release on the agenda coming up.
0600 GMT – UK September retail sales data
That’s all for the session ahead. I wish you all the best of days to come and good luck with your trading! Stay safe out there.