Sterling is so far the strongest today despite all the Brexit negative noises. It’s reported that EU is insisting on having an Irish backstop without time limit. On the other hand, UK Brexit Minister Dominic Raab pushing for a three-months expiry on the backstop. There are even reports saying that a no-deal Brexit would be most probable if no agreement would be made within a week. But the pound just shrugs them off and stays firm. New Zealand Dollar is following as the second strongest. Dollar and Canadian follow. Meanwhile, fresh selling is seen Swiss Franc just now, and it’s the weakest for today, followed by Euro. Yen follows together with Australian Dollar.
Reactions to European data are rather muted. Eurozone Sentix Investor Confidence dropped to 8.8 in November, down from 11.4 and missed expectation of 9.9. Sentix noted that the zenith is clearly passed in Eurozone back in January. UK PMI services dropped to 52.2 in October. Markit said that brought “mounting evidence” of Brexit impact on the economy.
Technically, whether Dollar could take extend late Friday’s rebound is a development to watch. For now, USD/JPY is staying below 113.38 temporary top. USD/CHF, in spite of today’s rebound, is staying well below 1.0094 (last week’s high). USD/CAD, is at middle of tight range of 1.3048/3170. EUR/GBP will also be a pair to watch as it’s heading back to 0.8722 near term support.
In other markets, major European indices are slightly firmer:
- FTSE is up 0.25%
- DAX is up 0.16%
- CAC is up 0.14%
- German 10 year yield is up 0.0028 at 0.435
- Italian 10 year yield is up 0.451 at 3.351. Spread stays below 300
In Asia:
- Nikkei closed down -1.55% at 21898.99
- Hong Kong HSI closed down -2.08% at 25934.49
- China Shanghai SSE closed down -0.41 at 2665.43
- Singapore Strait Times closed down -1.790% at 3060.62
- 10 year JGB yield rose 0.0015 to 0.131.
