Brown Brothers Harriman’s (BBH) Elias Haddad notes that global markets are cautious ahead of US-Iran ceasefire talks, with Brent, equities and bonds reacting while the Dollar stabilizes.
The Euro (EUR) appreciates against its main peers on Friday, boosted by news reporting that Russia and Ukraine might be close to a peace deal. The EUR/JPY pair has extended its rally from mid-March lows at 182.00 to 186.50 so far, bringing the year-to-date high at 186.88 into focus.
TD Securities’ Global Strategy Team expects a muted rebound in Canadian labour markets, forecasting only 10k new jobs in March and an unemployment rate of 6.8%.
Brazil IPCA Inflation registered at 0.88% above expectations (0.77%) in March
Mexico Industrial Output (YoY) came in at -1.3%, below expectations (-0.7%) in February
BNY’s Head of Markets Macro Strategy Bob Savage highlights extreme dislocation in Oil markets, with North Sea Forties Blend near $147/bbl and Dated Brent far above futures as Iran’s control of the Strait of Hormuz cuts flows to 8% of normal.
The Pound Sterling (GBP) trades higher against its major currency peers, except other European currencies, edging up to near 1.3444 against the US Dollar (USD) during the European trading session on Friday.
TD Securities’ Global Strategy Team highlights that United States (US) Consumer Price Index (CPI) is the key event, with core inflation expected to rise 0.27% m/m and headline CPI to jump 0.90% m/m as higher Oil prices feed through.
India FX Reserves, USD increased to $697.12B in March 30 from previous $688.06B
The US Dollar (USD) remains steady, relatively close to the key 160.00 level against the Japanese Yen (JPY) on Friday, as the fragility of the ceasefire in Iran has prompted investors to cut down US dollar shorts.
ING’s Francesco Pesole highlights that markets now price only 6bp for a European Central Bank (ECB) hike on 30 April, while around 55bp remains priced by year-end.
The Canadian labor market data for March is scheduled to be published today at 12:30 GMT.
