13/ 04/ 2020

Oil gains on OPEC deal, stocks forestalled by pandemic worries

Commodity currencies slipped against their safe-haven rivals such as the dollar and yen on Monday as a record output cut agreed by OPEC and other oil producing nations failed to offset broader concerns about slumping global demand. The greenback drifted higher against its Australian and New Zealand counterparts, widely seen as barometers for market risk, in a sign investor remain concerned about the consumption outlook for commodities.

Financial markets remain on edge over the spread of the novel coronavirus as severe restrictions on personal movement drag the global economy into a deep recession.Trading could be somewhat subdued as financial markets in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, and Britain are closed for the Easter Monday holiday.

Major oil producers agreed to the output cuts on Sunday to prop up oil markets as the pandemic severely curtailed global demand. Further declines in the dollar may be limited with speculative net short positions in the U.S. currency having risen to their highest since May 2018.

09/ 04/ 2020

Commodity Currencies spike in spite of pandemic peak

Commodity currencies drew support on Thursday from hopeful signs the coronavirus pandemic may be peaking and that major oil producers may agree to cut output to stem a plunge in oil prices.

The dollar’s index against six other major currencies stood flat early Thursday trade.The index is down 0.6% so far this week as safe-haven flows to the U.S. currency eased on rising hopes much of Europe and the United States could soon see themselves out of the worst period of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The market’s focus is now on U.S. initial jobless claims data, the average forecasts of economists stood at 5.25 million after a total of nearly 10 million claims over the past two weeks.On top of hopes of a peak in the epidemic, commodity-linked currencies, including the Aussie, got an additional boost from hopes that major oil producing countries could agree to cut output at a video conference on Thursday.

The euro was flat, having slipped on Wednesday, after European Union finance ministers failed in all-night talks to agree on more economic support for their coronavirus-stricken economies.Two main sticking points were conditions for access to emergency credit lines in the Euro zone’s bailout fund and the notion of issuing joint debt by the bloc, so-called “coronabonds”.