Trading news

Lorie Logan, President of the Federal Reserve (Fed) Bank of Dallas, spoke at the Bank of Dallas, claiming that the Fed should not have give guidance that implies easing right now. She also added that the next rate move could be a cut or a hike.

The Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) data showed the Manufacturing PMI held steady at 52.7 in April, slightly below analysts’ expectations of 53.0.

United States ISM Manufacturing PMI registered at 52.7, below expectations (53) in April

United States ISM Manufacturing New Orders Index increased to 54.1 in April from previous 53.5

United States ISM Manufacturing Prices Paid registered at 84.6 above expectations (80) in April

United States ISM Manufacturing Employment Index came in at 46.4 below forecasts (49) in April

BNY reports that Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel has signaled a likely European Central Bank rate hike in June unless the outlook improves, reinforcing a hawkish bias.

BNY’s Bob Savage highlights that suspected FX intervention has driven a sharp Japanese Yen rebound, with the Ministry of Finance signaling readiness to act in both currency and crude oil futures. The focus is now on key USD/JPY levels around 155–158 as authorities seek to counter Yen weakness.

United States S&P Global Manufacturing PMI came in at 54.5, above expectations (54) in April

GBP/JPY stages a modest rebound on Friday after coming under selling pressure earlier in the day amid suspected intervention by Tokyo for a second straight day to curb excessive weakness in the Japanese Yen (JPY).

Canada S&P Global Manufacturing PMI climbed from previous 50 to 53.3 in April

AUD/USD trades around 0.7200 on Friday at the time of writing, virtually unchanged on the day and holding near recent highs, as markets adopt a wait-and-see approach ahead of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) monetary policy decision scheduled for Tuesday.

European Central Bank (ECB) Governing Council member Gabriel Makhlouf said on Friday that without a clear timeline for the end of the conflict in the Middle East, he is concerned about a "higher-for-longer" energy price scenario, per Reuters.

In a statement published on Friday, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Beth Hammack explained her decision to dissent against the Fed keeping an easing bias in the policy statement, saying that a "clear easing bias" is no longer appropriate given the current outlook.

Citing Iranian sources, several news outlets reported on Friday that Iran has prepesented a new proposal to end the war and a response to the United States' (US) amendments through Pakistani mediators on Thursday.

Gold (XAU/USD) edges lower on Friday, heading for a second straight weekly decline as higher-for-longer interest rate expectations continue to dominate price action amid rising inflation concerns driven by elevated Oil prices.

Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari explained on Friday that he dissented at the April policy meeting because the uncertainty around the Strait of Hormuz means the Fed should acknowledge the risk of rate hikes in its statement.

Bank of England (BoE) Chief Economist Huw Pill said on Friday that a tightening in financial conditions seem as a reasonable response to the inflation risk from the US-Iran war, per Reuters.

The United States (US) Institute of Supply Management (ISM) Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) data for April is scheduled to be published today at 14:00 GMT.

The Pound (GBP) has turned positive on the daily chart against the Japanese Yen (JPY) on Friday, trading at levels a few pips above 213.00 at the time of writing, up from session lows at 211.78 earlier in the day.