Dollar, Yen and Loonie Under Pressure as Futures Push Higher

Wednesday opens with a few interesting surprises from the macro calendar. Australia published its GDP numbers, which came in much worse than expected at 0.4% instead of 0.7%. Under normal market conditions this would hurt the Australian dollar, but that’s not the case today — AUD is actually gaining, showing that traders simply shrugged off the negative figure. The exact same situation happened with Switzerland, where inflation came in at –0.2% instead of –0.1%, yet the Swiss franc is strengthening as well. So both currencies ignored the negative data entirely.

We are still waiting for two important releases from the US: ADP non-farm employment change and ISM services PMIs. These should inject more volatility once the American session approaches.

As for the market movements, commodities are trading with a positive tone. Oil is trying to push higher again after recent weakness, and metals are also on the rise, with copper standing out thanks to a strong 1.2% rally. Cryptocurrencies are enjoying a rebound as well. Bitcoin is now trading on weekly highs and is recovering firmly from the sharp drop we saw early Monday.

Looking at the currency market, the weakest group today includes the American dollar, Canadian dollar and Japanese yen. Euro is also on the back foot, with euro-Swiss and euro-pound moving lower. Meanwhile, equity sentiment is optimistic. Futures are climbing higher, pointing to a positive start of the day for indices.

That’s the situation on Wednesday morning as markets wait for US data to determine the next wave of volatility.

Source: https://www.axiory.com/analytics/market-news/dollar-yen-and-loonie-under-pressure-as-futures-pu