Europe Summary and Highlights 28 April
GBP strength was then main feature of the European morning.
European morning session
GBP strength was then main feature of the European morning. EUR/GBP dropped 35 pips to 0.8505, without an obvious trigger, but the pound may have benefited from an FT story indicating that there may be a renegotiation of the UK-EU trade deal at a summit on May 19. Otherwise, EURUSD lost around 10 pips and USD/JPY also slipped 10 pips lower in generally quiet trade. Scandis were also slightly firmer against the EUR.
Asian session
Equities are starting the week on a soft note as the initial euphoria of Trump's positive remark and technical recovery fades. U.S. three major equity indexes are all opening lower, with Chinese and Hong Kong equity indexes treading lower. Japanese equities, on the other hand, seems to be benefiting from news that Toyota maybe planning for a major investment in their part supplier. AUD/USD is trading 0.06% higher at 0.64, NZD/USD is also trading 0.06% higher at 0.5967 while USD/CAD is up 0.05%.
Japan's vice finance minister for international affairs Mimura denies a media report that U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent prefers stronger JPY. Such headlines has been circulating since the first U.S.-Japan meeting for the trade deal and has been dismissed. We do not see the Japanese government opening suggest FX rates to be one of the leverage in trade deals nor a collaborative intervention. USD/JPY is trading 0.22% lower at 143.32. Else, EUR/USD is up 0.13% and GBP/USD is up 0.05%.