Currencies

• The euro (EUR) rose to 1.2680 yesterday against the US dollar (USD) as the European Central Bank (ECB) didn’t mention the size of the assets they plan to buy but they stated that it will be sizable enough to expand the ECB’s balance sheet. Today 09:00 GMT the European monthly Retail Sales will be announced with expectations to rise by 0.1%.
• The US dollar (USD) continued its bearish trend towards 108.00 yesterday against the Japanese yen (JPY) ahead of NFP, despite the better US Unemployment Claims which were 287 thousand, while the expectations were at 299 thousand. Yen advanced as the Vice Prime Minister of Japan said that the continues drop of the currency is hurting many companies because of the increase in energy prices. Today 12:30 GMT the US Non-Farm Payrolls will be announced with expectations at 216 thousand new employers.

Equities

• European equities slid for second consecutive day as Mario Draghi didn’t add a specific stimulus program for the European recovery. The Germany 30 (DAX) fell to 9165, the France 40 (CAC) went to 4227 and the EU Stocks 50 (ESX) to 3086.

Commodities

• WTI Crude (OIL) crashed to 17-month low at 88.20 USD per barrel before rebounds back to 91.53 as demand for oil seems to decreasing.

Mover & Shaker with forex options

• The Canadian dollar (CAD) climbed to 1.1070 before retracing back to 1.1176 as the US Unemployment claims were better than expected. The loonie is under pressure as today the Canadian trade balance will be announced 12:30 GMT and is expected to be at 1.5 billion, while the US ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI will be announced with expectations at 58.5.
• Option traders may consider buying a Call on the USDCAD and gain if the pair moves higher, while the risk is limited to the premium paid.

Written by Demetris Constantinou
Currency Strategist at easy-forex®