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Silver increased beyond $23.00 while Gold once more increased and went above $2,000 before stabilizing at $1991.54 at the time of writing. Following its decline on Wednesday, Bitcoin increased to $28,500. After gaining ground for the majority of the day, the price of crude oil decreased by more than 1%. WTI is currently trading at $69.524 a barrel, while Brent crude is trading at $75.08.
Economic Data
Following key monetary policy meetings by the Fed, the Swiss National Bank (SNB), and the Bank of England (BoE), Friday’s preliminary reading of March PMIs will bring the economy back into the spotlight. Markets will also keep an eye on resurrected banking worries.
On Friday, Canada will release its January retail sales data. On Friday, the UK retail sales for February are due. Also, on Friday, the markets will receive the first PMI statistics for March’s worldwide activity. The “data-dependent” motto was embraced by central banks all around the world, thus economic data should be pertinent. Overall, it is anticipated that activity stayed close to February’s levels.
Data released on Thursday showed US New Home Sales rose 1.1% to 640,000 (annual rate) in February, slightly below expectations. The Chicago Fed National Activity Index fell from 0.23 to -0.19 in March, against forecasts of a 0 reading. Initial Jobless Claims dropped unexpectedly in the week ended March 18 to 191,000, the lowest in three weeks.
Key Developments
Equity prices in Wall Street finished with gains but far from session highs, pointing lower amid renewed banking concerns. The Dow Jones gained 75 points after being up by more than 400 points. Technology stocks outperformed while regional banks tumbled.
Late on the day, the deterioration in market sentiment boosted Treasury Bonds. The US 10-year yield settled at 3.39%, the lowest in three days. Despite the moves in the bond market, the US Dollar Index rebounded, ending with marginal gains above 102.50.
USD/JPY staged a short-lived recovery to 131.60 after US employment data and then fell to 130.32, a one-month low. The Japanese Yen was the main winner of the American session on the back of lower yields. Inflation data will be released early in Japan.
EUR/USD failed again to hold above 1.0900 and retreated sharply from monthly highs to below 1.0850. GBP/USD also pulled back, sliding under 1.2300. The Bank of England, as expected, raised its key interest rate by 25 basis points to 4.25%. The Monetary Policy Committee voted by a majority of 7-2 for the hike (Dhingra and Tenreyro voted to keep the rate at 4%).
AUD/USD battled again with the 0.6730/50 level, and retreated, falling under 0.6700 amid a stronger Greenback. The Australian PMI is due on Friday. NZD/USD was also affected by USD’s recovery and dropped from near 0.6300 to 0.6250. The Kiwi was among the top performers on Thursday. USD/CAD bounced from weekly lows at 1.3620 back above 1.3700.
Also Read:
Gold attempts to breach $2,000 ahead of US Durable Goods Orders
Crude Oil Rallies Again On Thursday
Yellen: Prepared for additional deposit actions `if warranted’
Why is Bitcoin surging on Thursday?
Japan CPI Preview: Forecasts by four major banks
