Marketwatch EU & UK

Daily Insights
February 2, 2024

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  • The greenback is lower against most of its G-10 peers as markets prepare for today’s US payrolls data, one of the most anticipated prints this week. US non-farm payrolls are estimated to have risen 185,000 in January, less than December’s strong print of 216,000. Yesterday’s increase in weekly jobless claims suggests a further weakening in the labour market. Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s step back on the March cut has thrown the dollar into the red, with the US Dollar Index lower 0.38% on the week, currently trading at 102.98.

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  • The Bank of England stated on Thursday that it is not willing to keep interest rates at restrictive levels for more time than it is required, however, the market remains over optimistic about any easing for the central bank this year. A 50% chance of a cut is priced in for May, and 100% chance of a cut at the June meeting.
  • Cable took off yesterday afternoon, advancing from near 1.2620, to currently trade in a narrow range around 1.2750.

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  • The euro has also had a strong rebound ahead of today’s US Jobs data. Straight after hitting a 7-week low ( 1.0785 – 100DMA), EUR/USD advanced to touch 1.0887 and currently holding up at these levels.

Economic Calendar

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AUD - PPI q/q
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EUR - French Gov Budget Balance
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EUR - French Industrial Production m/m
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EUR - Spanish Unemployment Change
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GBP - MPC Member Pill Speaks
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USD - Average Hourly Earnings m/m
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USD - Non-Farm Employment Change
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USD - Unemployment Rate
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USD - Revised UoM Consumer Sentiment
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USD - Factory Orders m/m
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USD - Revised UoM Inflation Expectations

Market Indicators

Currency Pairs
Pair High Low
eur/gbp 0.85368 0.8528
gbp/usd 1.2755 1.27421
gbp/aud 1.93867 1.93169
gbp/nzd 2.07464 2.07102
usd/jpy 146.541 146.242
eur/usd 1.08825 1.08699
gbp/jpy 186.806 186.435
eur/cnh 7.82395 7.8112
usd/cnh 7.19342 7.18328
Equities and Commodities
Nasdaq 100 17511.4
DOW 38524.8
S&P 500 4934.73
BRENT CRUDE 79.15
WTI 74.08
GOLD 2055.93

This document is for information purposes only and does not constitute any recommendation or solicitation to any person to enter into any transaction or adopt any trading strategy, nor does it constitute any prediction of likely future movements in exchange rates or prices or any representation that any such future movements will not exceed those shown on any illustration. All exchange rates and figures appearing are for illustrative purposes only. You are advised to make your own independent judgment with respect to any matter contained herein.