Market News

In early trading, the Euro had slipped from Tuesday’s 5-month peak but is presently working its way back on newfound confidence that Marine Le Pen will be soundly defeated in France’s upcoming presidential election.

The Australian dollar was down 0.27 percent by midday on Wednesday trading at 0.7518 after economic data was released earlier in the trading session.

The global stock rally extended into Tuesday following a rally on Monday on Wall Street spurned by centrist Emmanuel Macron’s electoral win in France over the weekend.

The Pound Sterling took a sharp dive versus the common currency Euro, largely a factor of the relief felt over Sunday’s presidential elections in France.

Oil prices headed higher on Monday morning on hopes that OPEC will continue its production cuts past its original May deadline.

There will be a greater amount of high-impact news scheduled this week, compared to last week.

The Euro steadied against the US Dollar and held below the recently struck 3-week peak as the first round of the French presidential voting nears.

The Pound Sterling was lifted versus the US Dollar after the latest polls showed the Conservative Party pulling out a lead.

Reports by the U.S. Energy Information Administration of a reduction in U.S. crude stocks sent oil prices slightly higher on Thursday morning, helping the commodity recover steep losses suffered on Wednesday.

The common currency Euro struck a 3-week peak earlier today against the greenback, though now it is struggling for traction.

Japanese stocks headed south on Wednesday morning, led by banking shares as Japanese government bond yields fell 0 percent, a rate not hit since November, and continuing geopolitical tensions kept traders on edge.

The Pound Sterling was higher across-the-board on Tuesday, and hit an 8-week peak versus the common currency Euro.

In a surprise move a few minutes ago, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Theresa May, announced her intention to hold an early General Election on 8th June this year.

The dollar erased recent gains on Tuesday morning and Asian stocks pulled back on fears that U.S. tensions with North Korea will continue to mount, following a failed missile send on Sunday.

In very light trading given the Easter Monday holiday in nearly all of Europe, the US Dollar continues to be softer than normal versus its major trading rivals.