Europe Summary and Highlights 2 April
The USD was generally lower through the European morning, with the JPY, GBP, AUD and NZD making the most pronounced gains.
European morning session
The USD was generally lower through the European morning, with the JPY, GBP, AUD and NZD making the most pronounced gains. USD/JPY lost 40 pips to 149.45, while AUD/USD gained 15 pips to reach a high of 0.6314, and NZD was stronger still, rising 20 pips to 0.5740. GBP/USD gained 30 pips to 1.2945. EUR/USD gains were more modest, rising around 15 pips to 1.0805. The SEK also outperformed the EUR, but EUR/CHF moved higher and USDCHF was little changed.
There was no news of any real note, but equities generally slipped lower as the market awaits the tariff announcement this evening.
Asia session
As market participants quietly wait for latest tariff update, market sentiment looks calm with USD marginally higher. U.S. Treasury yields opened higher while JGB yields fall. USD/JPY is trading 0.21% higher at 149.89, fast approaching the 150 figure. U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent's remark on tariff would not be as high as 20% and the announced tariff would be a cap, seems to have captured market participants attention.
The broad risk sentiment is undecided before actual tariff announcement as market participants seem to be anticipating likely milder tariffs from Trump. Regional equities are outperforming U.S. equities, though not by much. AUD/USD is trading 0.27% at 0.6294, NZD/USD i up 0.37% to 0.5722 while USD/CAD rose 0.05%. Else, EUR/USD is down 0.03% and GBP/USD down 0.06%.