UK PMIs disappointed to the downside yesterday, showing that both the services and manufacturing sectors contracted in April. Europe's services sector slipped into contraction territory. US Manufacturing went into expansion territory, helping the USD push on. The greenback was further given a boost by reports the USD will be looking to cut tariffs on China.
Stocks pushed on over the course of the afternoon but gains eased off into the evening after Trump refuted a Financial Times article saying he was considering changes to car parts.
The White House confirmed the new tariff rate for China may come in 2 to 3 weeks and that second round of talks with Japan will begin on 1st May.
Yesterday's flows saw selling of EUR back into USD and ultimately taking GBPEUR marginally higher.
*Daily move - against G10 rates at 7:30am, 24.04.25
** Indicative rates - interbank rates at 7:30am, 24.04.25
It's shaping up to be a quiet day ahead on the data front with just the German IFO numbers at 9am. We could see some downside risks if the numbers show a slide down in the services sector.
Overall, we continue to monitor tariff and Trump headlines in order to gauge market moves. Some dollar gains from yesterday have been trimmed this morning with China’s commerce ministry stating that there have been no talks between the US and China, and that the US should revoke all unilateral tariffs.
With the threat of trade wars looming over currency dynamics, market sentiment is poised to remain delicately balanced, teetering on the edge of uncertainty without a clear tilt towards optimism or pessimism.
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