Market overview

In today’s market update:

The greenback hits its highest in two years.

The euro was at its lowest in nearly a month.

Sterling was at its lowest since November 2020.

Gold futures traded lower to $1,923.

FOREX

USDX

The greenback edged up to its highest in two years after jumping overnight on hawkish comments from Federal Reserve (Fed) officials. The dollar index gained 0.5% to as much as 99.640 in early trade, its highest since May 2020, before steadying slightly lower.

EURUSD

The European currency was hurt by the prospect of new Western sanctions on Russia. The Euro was weighed down by fading hopes for a diplomatic solution to end the war in Ukraine, along with a strong US dollar rally. Furthermore, these worries exerted downward pressure on the Euro which traded at $1.0894, its lowest in nearly a month.

GBPUSD

The Sterling pound was at $1.30750, heading back in the direction of last month’s $1.3000, its lowest since November 2020

USDJPY

The U.S. dollar was up 0.17% against the Japanese yen to 123.84, having touched a week-high in early trade, and heading back towards March’s near seven-year peak of 125.1. The Bank of Japan (BOJ) is holding Japanese yields down, and the widening gap between U.S. and Japanese yields is weighing on the samurai currency.

AUDUSD

Meanwhile, the Aussie was holding firm at $0.7574, near its 10-month peak after the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) signaled higher interest rates were approaching.

Indices

United States

U.S. indices were flat and unable to build gains due to the geopolitical tension in Europe and rising Covid-19 cases in China. US major indices futures traded flat during the early Asian session.

Asia-Pacific

Asian share markets slipped this morning as investors considered the likelihood of aggressive monetary tightening by the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) to fight inflation, while the focus was also on new Western sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

Japan’s Nikkei lost 2.0%, while Australian shares lost 0.75%. Hang Seng index was down 1.3%, China’s Shanghai Composite was down 0.55%, and the Shenzhen Component was down 0.28% as Chinese markets re-opened after a two-day holiday.

Metals

Gold traded 0.23% lower to $1,923 during the morning session in Asia, easing as the dollar gained due to hawkish comments from U.S. Federal Reserve officials. Market participants await the minutes from the Fed’s latest meeting later today. U.S. Treasury yields also hit multi-year records during the session. However, longer-term yields are moving more quickly and have partly reversed some of the U.S. curve’s recent inversions. Gold futures were down.

Silver inched down 0.1%, and platinum was down 0.3%, while palladium was flat at $2,237.05.

Energy

Oil was up on Wednesday morning in Asia, even as dollar gains prompted fresh selling. Brent oil futures were up 0.25% to $106.91, and WTI futures inched up 0.02% to $101.98. in the previous session, Brent futures fell 0.8%, and WTI dropped 1.3% when the dollar hit its highest level in almost two years. Tuesday’s U.S. crude oil supply data from the American Petroleum Institute also showed a build of 1.08 million barrels for the week ended Mar. 31. Market participants await supply data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, due later in the day.

In the Asia Pacific, fuel demand concerns are rising as China, one of the top oil importers globally, extended the lockdown for Shanghai.

Daily fundamental update about the FOREX market and major currencies, indices, metals and oil by professional market analysts