Currencies/Fixed Income
- Slightly higher US yields helped to stabilize the USD but the greenback remained on track to register its fourth straight weekly decline and its longest weekly streak of losses since last July. The USD softness being attributed to Fed Chief Powell s acknowledgment that it needed further evidence of substantial further progress toward recovery to warrant a change to its ultra-loose monetary settings.
- EUR/USD brushed aside various Q1 GDP readings and ignored the prospect of a double-dip recession in the region. Dealers appeared to be looking at recent data reports that suggested an underlying strength and an accelerating recovery for the region. The overall take was that the region lockdown-resilient economy would soon exit recession as businesses and consumers should begin fueling a recovery in 2Q.