Headlines:
- US president Trump reaffirms that Iran called a while ago and that they want to make a deal
- Oil prices continue to surge amid heightened US-Iran tensions and renewed supply fears
- Dollar holds lower after Trump says that Iran wants to make a deal again
- ECB’s Escriva: the ECB cannot adjust monetary policy in response to every geopolitical development
- All members viewed risks to inflation outlook as being to the upside – ECB accounts
- Japan chief cabinet secretary says government is watching markets with high sense of urgency
Markets:
- WTI crude up 0.7% to $74.01
- NZD leads, USD and CAD lag on the day
- European indices slightly higher; S&P 500 futures up 0.2%
- US 10-year yields up 2 bps to 4.587%
- Gold up 0.7% to $4,105
- Bitcoin up 1% to $62,704
It was a pensive session as market players took the time to digest the latest US-Iran developments this week.
While the US and Iran continue to exchange strikes against each other, US president Trump proclaimed that Iran had called him up earlier today in asking for a deal to be made.
Sound familiar? It is because that is exactly the same kind of situation we found ourselves before the ceasefire deal was brokered. So, more than a month later and yet we are still back to dealing with the same narrative as before. Nonetheless, it at least still shows some appetite for TACO/de-escalation.
That being said, markets remain cautious with oil prices continuing to stay more volatile on the session. WTI crude fell to around $72.40 before trading back up by 0.7% now to $74.01 on the day. That comes as more headlines crossed the wires in indicating further attacks between the US and Iran in the meantime.
The US dollar also fell a bit early on but have now pared most of those losses. EUR/USD went up to a high of 1.1450 but is now trading back to 1.1425, just up 0.1% on the day. Meanwhile, GBP/USD also traded up to 1.3430 before falling back to flat at 1.3385 currently.
Besides that, equities remain cautious as well but tech shares are hoping to try and catch a bounce after another sluggish showing yesterday. S&P 500 futures are up 0.2% while Nasdaq futures are up 0.7%. Chipmakers are looking to bounce back with both Micron and Sandisk up near 5% in pre-market.
In other markets, 10-year Treasury yields are up 2 bps to 4.587% again after a drop to around 4.56% earlier in the day. And looking to precious metals, gold is up 0.7% to $4,105 with silver up 1.1% to $58.98 on the day.
This article was written by fl9bde53b91e184082bbe3aa3acaaf2cb0 at investinglive.com.
