Market Wrap – US dollar strengthens

The rebound in the US dollar remained a central theme during the US session as the spillover effect from Fed member Wallers speech last Frida continued.

Foreign exchange moves were probably the most visible, with the EURUSD pair retracing towards the 1.0900 mark, while the GBPUSD pair fell back under the 1.2400 support level.

Markets will now be on extra close watch for Fed speakers this week before the blackout period commences ahead of the Fed policy meeting this coming May.

Stock market moves were extremely muted as the brunt of the action happened in the US dollar. The precious metals action definitely saw a trend today.

Both Gold and Silver edged lower as the US dollar strengthened. Particular attention was paid to the $2,000 level for the yellow metal, which is a critical psychological level.

Chinese GDP is the next big market mover for Copper prices. Tomorrow will see the release of Chinese GDP. Expectations are set around a loft 4 percent for Q1.

Today the data was light during the US session, however, we did see the release of the New York Empire State Manufacturing Index, which moved markets.

The NY Empire State Manufacturing Index unexpectedly jumped to 10.8 in April of 2023 from -24.6 in March, beating market forecasts of -18. The reading pointed to the first increase in manufacturing in the NY state in five months and the strongest since July last year.

The new orders index rebounded to a one-year high of 25.1 from -21.7, price pressures eased (33 vs 41.9) and employment shrank less, although it marked the third consecutive month of falls (-8 vs -10.1).

Looking ahead, firms expect business conditions to improve over the next six months (6.6 vs 2.9), with measures of capital expenditures and employment also rising.