Forexlive Americas FX news wrap 6 May: US stocks extend gains made last week while USD has mixed. | Forexlive

Today was relatively uneventful on the economic event front with only April’s “employment trends” index dropping to its lowest level since May 2021, yet being mostly disregarded by markets. Two Federal officials also spoke at this event – Richmond Fed Pres. Barkin and NY Fed Pres. Dudley both spoke. Richmond Federal Reserve President Barkin recently expressed concerns over inflation. While his tone seemed cautious on inflation and policy matters, neither seemed fearful that rate hikes may become necessary in 2019. Richmond Fed President Barkin spoke today regarding this problem as well as expressed disappointment with this year’s data and underscored that this job must yet be finished. Barkin expressed confidence in the current restrictive interest rate level’s capacity to temper demand and bring inflation within target, yet reiterated their readiness to react if an economy overheated were to occur. While acknowledging strong consumer spending and business’ ability to raise prices, Barkin emphasized the significance of Fed’s proactive stance in managing economic uncertainties. He expressed concern regarding inflation’s persistent threat and challenges associated with its control, emphasizing the need to foster confidence that inflation would reach its 2% goal by increasing transparency surrounding its trajectory. Barkin also touched upon the normalization of labor markets and ongoing emphasis on job growth amidst solid GDP performance. Overall, Barkin’s remarks highlight the difficulty associated with controlling inflationary pressures and underscore the Fed’s cautious stance towards them. New York Federal Reserve President Williams and others highlighted moderating job growth figures while emphasizing its comprehensive analysis of economic indicators. Williams is an active voting member on the Federal Open Market Committee’s (FOMC) board and recently made suggestions that include potential future rate cuts as part of their strategy. He noted the smooth execution and minimal market impact from balance sheet wind-down, noting continued consumer spending growth as well as predicted GDP expansion of 2.5-2.5% this year. Williams noted signs of consumer caution regarding spending and characterised the economy as healthy but experiencing slower growth. Furthermore, he posited that low volatility may soon come to an end and linked slower inflation retreat to its impact on global economies in general. Market expectations now reflect expectations of rate reductions, with September priced in as having an 84% probability. There were numerous geopolitical headlines due to an imminent Israeli invasion of Rafah; Hamas accepted a ceasefire agreement proposed by Egypt and Qatar respectively. However, subsequent reports revealed that Hamas agreed to accept an alternate proposal than one developed by Israel. Israel rejected this deal outright. Under its most recent framework, which proposed the release of 20-33 hostages over several weeks in exchange for a temporary ceasefire and release of Palestinian prisoners, as part of an exchange deal that included temporary ceasefire, Palestinian prisoners released, and Israel’s commitment to an offensive in Rafah city located south in Gaza; earlier Israeli military warned local Palestinian residents living there “evacuate immediately.” Markets were relatively unaffected by this news with oil prices increasing modestly within an $8.00 to $1.10 range despite tension. On forex trading platforms, GBP proved strong regardless of being on holiday today in Britain; its decision will be announced Thursday by Bank of England. The JPY remains one of the world’s weakest currencies; as a result, USD/JPY pairs (and others involving it) were seen correcting recent declines from last week’s trading activity. Meanwhile, USD was up against JPY, CHF but modestly down against other major currencies. Strength to Weakest among Major Currencies Stocks continued their uptrend after FOMC meeting and more favorable jobs report, adding to previous gains made since then. Dow Industrial Average average rose 0.46% while S&P index gained 1.03percent and NASDAQ index was up 1.19percent at day’s end in terms of yields; shorter lease rentals being higher and longer terms lower. On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday the U.S. Treasury will auction 3-, 10-and 30-year coupon issues with yields between 4.832% (2.7 basis points) and 4.486% (5 basis points), 4.486% 0.5 basis points (10 year 4.487% (-1.3 bases)and 30 year yield 4.636%(-2.4% bases):Oil prices were slightly up but trading within their narrow daily range; currently all trading at $78.562 — up $0.51 from yesterday; gold rose $20.77 or 0.90% at $2322.70 while Bitcoin trading slightly lower at $63,461.