ForexLive Summary of European foreign exchange news: Eurozone data, a reassurance for the ECB

Securities:

Markets:

• USD leads, AUD lags on this day
• European stocks are mostly down; S&P 500 futures down 0.1%
• US 10-year yields up 0.9bp to 4.622%
• Gold down 1.0% to $2,312.94
• WTI crude up 0.3% to $82.91
• Bitcoin down 4.2% to $61,145

After extreme attention paid to the Japanese yen at the start of the week, we are seeing some decline in tone. USD/JPY was largely stable, holding just below 157 throughout the session. The pair has been seen around 156.70-90 for the most part, as traders take a more cautious approach on the day.

This gave Eurozone data an opportunity to divert some of the attention. The eurozone economy performed better than expected in the first quarter, with the German economy avoiding a recession.

Added to this is a further moderation of inflationary pressures, with annual underlying inflation standing at 2.7% in April, compared to 2.9% in March. But the figure itself was slightly higher than estimates, which were put at 2.6%. The euro saw a slight jump on this, with EUR/USD initially rising from 1.0710 to 1.0730. But the pair is falling back to 1.0717 on the day, close to stable levels.

Overall, this data is of great comfort to the ECB as it provides it with additional flexibility in its next policy measures after June – at least for now.

Elsewhere, the dollar remains more stable and resists yesterday’s slight losses. AUD/USD in particular is down 0.7% at 0.6523 after poor Australian retail sales data earlier. The more lukewarm risk mood at the end of the month doesn’t help either.

US futures are down slightly while European indices are lagging, set to end April with losses – the first of the year.

In other markets, gold is also under pressure as it is down 1% at $2,312 and Bitcoin is currently bleeding at $61,100.