While no major data prints were scheduled for release on Monday, the first day of the week saw some interesting price moves on the financial markets. Key takeaway from the weekend is that candidate of Erdogan’s AKP party lost rerun of the Istanbul elections. In the aftermath, the Turkish lira launched new week higher against both USD and EUR. Nevertheless, much of that gain was already erased as purchase of missile systems from Russia risks Turkey being subject to new US sanctions.
Apart from that, the US dollar is having a hard time today as it is trading lower against almost every G10 currency. In turn, we saw EURUSD flirting with the 1.14 handle for the first time since late-March. The only G10 currency that is trading lower against the greenback is the British pound. GBP continues to be pressured as there is still much uncertainty over who will be the next Prime Minister. Antipodean currencies (AUD and NZD), being fuelled by gains on the commodity market, are among the strongest majors.
Speaking of commodities, precious metals are subject to strong gains today, mostly due to the weakening of the USD. Solid gains can also be spotted on the industrial metals market and agricultural commodities trade higher in most cases as well. Energy commodities stand out as a group as crude, gasoline and heating oil all trade lower today. On the other hand, natural gas managed to snap losing streak and is experiencing strong gains today.
When it comes to equities, Monday’s session was a bit mixed. Bulls dominated in Asia and bears took control over the European session. Moods during the European trading hours were poor due to another profit forecast cut issued by Daimler, hinting that trade wars and global slowdown bite further into industry’s prospects. Traders from the United States seem to be more optimistic as all three major indices from Wall Street trade higher. However, Nasdaq and S&P 500 are quoted just a few points above Friday’s closing prices.
Last but not least, cryptocurrencies are having a good start to the week. Bitcoin is trading 9.5% higher and tested $11,000 handle earlier in the day. Digital coins regained their shine after it was announced some time ago that Facebook will launch its own digital currency.
