Dollar Firms on Demand for Safety

USD

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of major currencies, inched higher during the Asian session to 98.94 to recover from its sharpest weekly drop since 2009. The dollar suffered against its rivals as the steps taken by the Federal Reserve and Trump's administration boosted risk assets and weighed on the dollar. The dollar index lost more than 3.5% last week, after testing its highest levels since early 2017. Currently, the buck is trading higher against peers where the EURUSD dropped to $1.1060, the GBPUSD fell to $1.2332, and the USDJPY edged higher to 108.20. The sharp rally witnessed last week, triggered some profit-taking, and the continuously rising coronavirus cases pushed investors to reassess the situation and seek safety.

Equities

Major US stock index futures kicked off the week on a gap lower as the Coronavirus outbreak continued. Benchmarks had a strong rally last week, gaining more than 12% supported by the Federal Reserve's commitment to buy the needed assets to boost the economy and the stimulus bill that aims at helping the unemployed and affected sectors. Market participants are bracing themselves for another week of volatility amid rising uncertainty over the pandemic. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures dropped as low as 20939, the S&P500 futures declined to 2462, and Nasdaq futures tumbled to 7411. In Europe, the German DAX futures pared partial gains dropping to 9421, and the FTSE edged down to 5346.

Metals

Gold prices continued to trade in a tight range as investors await further insights. The spot price of a gold ounce is trading in a range between $1600 and $1650. Meanwhile, the price of a silver ounce plunged to $13.87, and palladium futures declined to $2127.

Oil

Oil prices extended declines as the coronavirus outbreak continues to suspend the global economic activity and lessen the demand for oil. Meanwhile, the price war between top oil producers is intensifying as we approach the deadline of the last OPEC+ output cut deal. The West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell to $20.13, and Brent futures fell to $22.76.

Major Economic Events

Disclaimer 

The prices and news mentioned in this outlook are absolutely no guarantee of future market performance and do not represent the view of ICM.COM. Financial markets can move in either direction causing profits to be made or complete losses to be incurred by the trader. Each trader must decide for themselves what their risk appetite is and ensure that correct risk management procedures are in place before placing any trades.