Headlines:
Markets:
- EUR leads, JPY lags on the day
- European equities little changed; S&P 500 futures up 0.1%
- US 10-year yields up 4.6 bps to 3.953%
- Gold up 0.2% to $2,045.31
- WTI crude up 1.1% to $73.52
- Bitcoin up 0.9% to $43,343
It wasn’t the most lively of sessions but there were some pushing and pulling in markets in European trading.
On the data front, we saw better revisions to the PMI data from the euro area and the UK and that helped to keep both the euro and sterling steadier. Meanwhile, French and German inflation numbers are seen slightly higher in December but it is also in part due to energy prices.
The dollar started off on the backfoot before trading more mixed now as risk appetite also showed some tentative signs during the session. European stocks were slightly higher before briefly paring gains and is now just marginally on the front foot as we head towards US trading.
The euro and pound held gains against the greenback but are off their earlier highs, with EUR/USD up 0.3% to 1.0952 and GBP/USD up 0.2% to 1.2686 – down from 1.0972 and 1.2730 respectively.
The Japanese yen is the biggest loser after it briefly pared its decline in Asia. USD/JPY moved up from 143.40 to 144.30, helped out by higher bond yields and calls that the BOJ is not likely to opt for an early policy pivot in January.
As risk sentiment is still fragile, the aussie and kiwi pared early gains against the dollar with AUD/USD dropping from 0.6755 to 0.6730 and NZD/USD falling from 0.6285 to 0.6250 currently.
It’s now over to the ADP employment data to see what that has to offer to the mix today.