Posted at 29 December 2022 / Categories Market Roundups
Market Roundup
•US Initial Jobless Claims 225K,225K forecast, 216K previous
•US Continuing Jobless Claims 1,710K,1,686K forecast, 1,672K previous
•US Jobless Claims 4-Week Avg. 221.00K, 221.75K previous
•US Natural Gas Storage-213B,-201B forecast, -87B previous
•US Gasoline Inventories-3.105M,0.520M forecast,2.530M previous
•US EIA Weekly Refinery Utilization Rates (WoW) 1.1%, -0.1% forecast, -1.3% previous
•US Crude Oil Imports 1.328M,-1.092M previous
•US Heating Oil Stockpiles 0.011M, -0.239M previous
•US EIA Weekly Distillates Stocks 0.282M,-2.050M forecast, -0.242M previous
•US Gasoline Production0.592M,0.358M previous
•US Distillate Fuel Production -0.017M,-0.066M previous
•US Cushing Crude Oil Inventories -0.195M, 0.853M previous
•US EIA Refinery Crude Runs (WoW) -0.150M previous
•US Crude Oil Inventories 0.718M, 1.520M forecast,-5.894M previous
Looking Ahead - Economic events(GMT)
•No data ahead
Looking Ahead - Economic events and other releases (GMT)
• No significant event
Currency Summaries
EUR/USD: The euro steadied against dollar on Thursday after labor market data showed new claims for unemployment benefits increased last week. The Labor Department said weekly initial jobless claims rose by 9,000 to a seasonally adjusted 225,000, in-line with expectations, while continuing claims rose by 41,000 to 1.71 million, the highest since February. Economists polled had forecast 225,000 claims for the latest week. The dollar index fell 0.54%, with the euro up 0.53% to $1.0664. Immediate resistance can be seen at 1.0668(23.6%fib), an upside break can trigger rise towards 1.0731(Dec 15th high).On the downside, immediate support is seen at 1.0616(9DMA), a break below could take the pair towards 1.0537(38.2%fib).
GBP/USD: The pound edged higher on Thursday as the U.S. dollar eased, with traders awaiting new indications on the Federal Reserve's rate hike plans. Dollar’s appeal was dented by expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve would slow its pace of interest rate hikes.The Fed slowed its pace of rate hikes to 50 basis points (bps) in December after four consecutive increases of 75 bps each. However, Fed Chair Jerome Powell has warned that the central bank will lift rates further next year. Sterling rose 0.20% to $1.2052, but was similarly not far off its three-week trough of $1.1993 hit last week. Immediate resistance can be seen at 1.2128( 30DMA), an upside break can trigger rise towards 1.2210(Dec 20th high).On the downside, immediate support is seen at 1.2000 (38.2%fib),a break below could take the pair towards 1.9000 (30th Nov).
USD/CAD: The Canadian dollar rose against its U.S. counterpart on Wednesday as dollar dipped after unemployment claim data pointed to a cooling off in the U.S. labour market. Initial claims for unemployment benefits rose 9,000 to a seasonally adjusted 225,000 for the week ended Dec. 24, the Labor Department said.The dollar lost ground against a basket of world currencies after jobless claims data suggested some easing in the tight labor market, even as optimism over Beijing's relaxed COVID restrictions reopening was dampened by a wave of new COVID cases there. Immediate resistance can be seen at 1.3583 (9DMA), an upside break can trigger rise towards 1.3611 (23.6%fib).On the downside, immediate support is seen at 1.3549(30 DMA), a break below could take the pair towards 1.3522 (38.2%fib)
USD/JPY: The dollar edged lower against Japanese yen on Thursday as initial optimism over China's reopening fizzled out and as markets processed a readout of U.S. jobless claims.Markets are weighing the impact of China's rapid loosening of its strict COVID-19 rules with a surge in new infections. After hitting a one-week high against the yen on Wednesday, which saw the dollar touch 134.40, the greenback hit a session low against the yen on Thursday. The dollar last fell 1.1% against the yen to 133.005. Strong resistance can be seen at 134.14(14DMA), an upside break can trigger rise towards 135.07(38.2%fib).On the downside, immediate support is seen at 132.74(23.6%fib), a break below could take the pair towards 131.71(Dec 22nd low).
Equities Recap
European shares closed higher on Thursday, with technology stocks leading gains, buoyed by Wall Street cheer after U.S. jobless data eased concerns about the Federal Reserve's aggressive tightening cycle.
UK's benchmark FTSE 100 closed up by 0.21 percent, Germany's Dax ended up by 1.05 percent, France’s CAC finished the day up by 0.97 percent.
U.S. stocks closed sharply higher on Thursday, powered by a rebound in recently battered mega-cap growth stocks, while crude oil prices declined as a surge of COVID cases in China exacerbated fears of global economic downturn.
Dow Jones closed up by 1.05%percent, S&P 500 closed up by 1.79% percent, Nasdaq settled up by 2.59 % percent.
Treasuries Recap
The yield on the benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury note fell on Thursday following three straight sessions of gains, as labor market data showed new claims for unemployment benefits increased last week.
The yield on 10-year Treasury notes was down 4.7 basis points to 3.839%.The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond was down 5.2 basis points to 3.925%
Commodities Recap
Gold edged higher on Thursday, helped by a dip in the dollar as initial unemployment claim data pointed to a cooling off in the U.S. labour market, easing worries about harsher Federal Reserve rate hikes next year.
Spot gold jumped 0.7% to $1,817.30 per ounce by 1:41 p.m. ET (1841 GMT), while U.S. gold futures settled up 0.6% at $1,826.
Oil prices fell for a second straight session on Thursday on an uncertain demand outlook as more countries considered restrictions on Chinese travelers with COVID-19 infections spreading in the top oil-importing nation.
Brent crude futures for February delivery fell by a dollar to settle at $82.26, down 1.2%. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures settled at $78.40 per barrel, down by $1.13, or 0.7%.