Sterling Plummets on Election Fears
Oil Prices Rally
Investors Eye the NFPs
Market Recap – This week in a nutshell:
Geopolitical tensions have risen this week after PD party leader Matteo Renzi signaled that Italy may hold its next election at the same time as Germany and as markets await to hear U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision on staying in or leaving the Paris Agreement on climate change.
Thu, June 1: In Today’s Markets…
1. Sterling Plummets on Election Fears
The pound retreated on Thursday on fears that Prime Minister Theresa May could lose control of parliament in Britain’s June 8 elections. Indicatively, the GBP was last seen trading 0.3 percent lower against the USD as of 7:00 GMT. It should be noted that a YouGov poll revealed that Theresa May could be well short of the number of seats needed to form a government, raising the prospect of political turmoil just as formal Brexit talks begin.*
2. European Markets Open Higher as Oil Prices Rally on Stock Draw
European Markets started the day on a bullish note on Thursday as investors eyed a rally in oil prices. Crude and Brent added more than 1 percent respectively as of 7:00 GMT buoyed by expectations that the United States could pull out of a global climate accord and by a report that revealed that the U.S. crude stockpiles had fallen more than expected. It should be noted that the European Commission resurfaced plans to integrate the euro zone further on Wednesday in an effort to put a unified front against the upcoming Brexit negotiations.**
3. Dollar Index Edges Higher as Investors Eye the NFPs
The USD edged higher against its major rivals on Thursday, as investors eyed a fresh batch of U.S. data due later within the day and on Friday. The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, closed up 0.1% at 97.01, while the USD was last seen treading 0.2 percent higher against the Japanese Yen at 110.95JPY as of 7:10 GMT. It should also be noted however, that political concerns continued to weigh on the greenback which has been under pressure in recent weeks amid fears of investigations into President Donald Trump’s ties with Russia.***
*Source: Reuters
**Source: CNBC
***Investing.com
