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Daily Market Update – February 8

By:
FX Empire Editorial Board
Updated: Mar 4, 2019, 13:25 UTC

Gold Prices Hit Three Month High Gold futures hit their highest level since November 11 on Wednesday as worries over President Trump’s policies and the

Daily Market Update - February 8

Gold Prices Hit Three Month High

Gold futures hit their highest level since November 11 on Wednesday as worries over President Trump’s policies and the political risk of European elections to the Euro Zone led to increased demand for safe-haven assets.

Gold is trading at 1241.35 up 0.41% from previous close and continue its fourth consecutive positive trading day.

European Stocks Mostly Higher, US Futures Flat

European stock markets are mostly higher, led by a rise in the French CAC 40. The DAX managed a rather modest gain while the U.K.’s FTSE 100 is heading south, but is up from earlier lows. The rise in Sterling against the EUR likely underpinned the underperformance of the FTSE 100 against the DAX in the European session, but with Sterling down against most other currencies, the effect could fade as U.S. markets open. The cautious gains in Europe followed a largely positive session in Asia, where property developers and automakers helped Chinese stocks to move higher.  On Tuesday the Nasdaq hit a fresh all-time high.

Euro is Under Pressure on European Elections Concerns

The EUR/USD is under pressure at the mid-session on Wednesday. The downside momentum suggests traders are going after the January 30 main bottom at 1.0619. Concerns over the European elections continue to be the main driving force behind the selling.

Based on the current price at 1.0648, the direction of the EUR/USD the rest of the session is likely to be determined by trader reaction to the steep downtrending angle at 1.0668. Look for the market to continue lower over the near-term as long as the market remains under this steep angle moving down at a rate of .004 per day from the 1.0828 main top.

Copper Surges as Workers Set a Strike in Chile

Copper futures are surging on Wednesday on short-covering and aggressive counter-trend speculative buying after workers at the world’s biggest copper mine vowed to start an indefinite strike on Thursday as talks with BHP Billiton failed to produce an agreement following weeks of collective bargaining in Chile.

US Dollar Stable as Rate Hike Probability Increases

Sentiment towards the Dollar improved on Wednesday, the upside coming off the back of hawkish commentary from voting FOMC member Harker, with the Dollar continuing to gain through the Asian and European session and early part of the US session.

Harker’s comments failed to materially shift market sentiment towards a March rate hike, despite his best efforts to convince the markets that next month’s FOMC meeting will be live. Yields failed to reflect the hawkish sentiment, with the probability of a March rate hike rising to just 13%, from under 10% on Monday.

the Dollar Spot Index stands at 100.50, an intraday gain of 0.11, with cable standing at $1.2484,down 0.20% and the EUR down 0.23% at $1.0654.

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