Quiet Friday Opens With FX in Focus as Futures Go Offline

Hello traders, welcome to Friday – the final trading day before the long Easter weekend, and as expected, the market is entering a lower-volatility phase. Most global exchanges are closed today for the holiday, including futures markets, so activity is already significantly reduced as we start the European session.

That being said, the Forex market remains open, and this is where we’ll likely see most of the action today – although even here, liquidity is expected to be thin and price moves more erratic. So far this morning, there’s no major data on the calendar, and traders are still digesting yesterday’s developments.

Thursday was a busy session from a macro perspective. We had an expected 25 basis point rate cut from the European Central Bank, which didn’t spark too much volatility, as it was already priced in. Earlier in the day, we saw stronger-than-expected inflation from New Zealand and mixed labor data from Australia – which didn’t help much, as the Aussie dollar stayed under modest pressure.

From the political front, the U.S.–China trade tensions continue to linger in the background. Donald Trump’s latest announcement about new fees on Chinese ships docking in U.S. ports is adding a bit of risk-off undertone, but again, with today being a holiday across many markets, the impact is muted for now.

On the FX board, we can still observe some continuation of recent trends. Commodity currencies like the Aussie and Kiwi are holding up relatively well, while the U.S. dollar and Canadian dollar remain weak heading into the Easter break. The British pound is also performing decently, especially after rebounding from recent inflation-related weakness.

As for commodities, metals had a strong showing this week – especially gold and silver – though with futures closed, no fresh momentum is expected today. Oil has been holding gains as well, but traders will need to wait until next week to see if prices can continue toward long-term resistance levels.

In short: Friday opens very quietly. There’s no data, very limited market activity, and reduced liquidity – a typical pre-holiday session. Traders who are still at the desk should stay cautious, manage positions carefully, and be aware that price moves could be choppier than usual due to lower volume. Let’s see if any surprises come through, but for now, it looks like the markets are winding down into the Easter break.

Source: https://www.axiory.com/analytics/market-news/quiet-friday-opens-with-fx-in-focus-as-futures-go