Nervous sentiment is prevailing in the market as the possibility of a “Brexit” has increased in the past few days. During the evening four new polls were released and three of them showed that the ‘leave’ campaign is ahead of the ‘remain’ campaign. The economic calendar is rather busy today with UK inflation and US retail sales being the major focuses before tomorrow’s FOMC rate decision.
Currencies: Currencies: Amazing action in GBPUSD which trades very close to its 2 month lows. Yesterday the pair spiked twice over 100 pips in an instant after polls were released amid thin markets, only for the price to fall again later. JPY has strengthened versus all other currencies, as it always does when stock markets fall. The euro held steady at $1.1291, having recovered from Monday’s low of $1.1233. AUDUSD is holding relatively well despite broad USD strength. It fell to 0.7375 in the early Asian session, but bounced from there and rose to 0.74 later in the session. Meanwhile, NZD/USD extended losses and fell to 0.7020.
Stocks: Stocks in the US slipped yesterday for the third straight session, as the SP500 and the DJ finished at their lowest close since 24th of May in a very very volatile day of trading. In fact The VIX index, which measures volatility, was at its highest level since 1st of March. Overnight, in Asia, Regional indices also dropped catching up with their European and US counterparts.
Oil and Gold: Crude oil prices continued to slip, pressured by the strong U.S. dollar and worrying economic prospects in Europe and Asia. Brent was down 1 % at $49.84 per barrel, while U.S. crude shed 1.1 % to $48.34. Gold extended its recent rally to 1290 and is trading firm at 1280.
