(02 September 2020)DAILY MARKET BRIEF 2:GBP/USD is moving sideways
In the commodity market, gold is retreating as the US dollar is leveraging the US manufacturing data. On Monday, gold rose to the highest since mid-August as the greenback dropped to the lowest in years. Nevertheless, fresh hopes for economic recovery are supporting the American currency at the expense of the metal, which is down 0.50% to $1,970 per ounce.
Oil futures continued to improve on Wednesday after a bigger-than-expected decline in US crude stockpiles. The upbeat manufacturing data from the US and China have also contributed to the risk appetite. Brent and WTI brands are both up 0.94% as of now.
The American Petroleum Institute said that US crude inventories had declined by 6.4 million barrels in the week ending August 28, while analysts expected a drop by 1.9 million barrels.
In FX, the US dollar has bounced back from two-year lows, supported by the same US manufacturing data. EUR/USD is down 0.04%. On Monday, the pair broke above 1.20 for the first time since May 2018.
GBP/USD is moving sideways, while the Japanese Yen has lost 0.07% versus the USD.
The Australian dollar has lost 0.17% versus the American counterpart as the country officially entered a recession. Australia’s GDP contracted in the second quarter by 7%, which is the worst slump on record.
