ICM: Euro, Pound Suffer Amid Mounting Pressures from Italy’s Budget and Brexit

ICM, the leading London-based FX and CFDs provider, reported that the Euro and the British pound fell sharply against rivals on Italy's budget concerns and latest developments regarding Brexit.

The Euro traded near a two-month low against the United States dollar due to doubts over Italy's budget spending. Despite the drop in the bond yields yesterday, the common currency traded at a low of $1.1439 during the Asian session. Market participants remain cautious about the developments in this matter and its effect on the markets. Italy's Deputy Prime Minister said that there would still be weeks to discuss the budget if the Commission rejected Italy's letter.

ICM highlighted that the British pound traded at a three-week low against the United States dollar amid fears over May's future. The Democratic Unionist Party said that they would back an amendment proposed by rebel Brexiteer lawmakers that will effectively make the backstop proposal illegal. The party believes that the backstop proposal would tear Northern Ireland from the rest of Britain. As per ICM trading platform, the GBPUSD traded at a low of $1.2936, and the GBPJPY fell to a five-week low of 145.47.

The dollar index which measures the greenback against a basket of major currencies reversed Friday's losses and rose to a two-month high of 96.16 during the Asian session. The dollar could rally further, supported by the growing risks in Europe.

Gold prices traded near a three-month high as investors raced to the safe haven asset. As per ICM trading platform, the precious metal logged a high of $1232 at the start of the European trading session. The silver ounce tested a high of $14.71.

Oil prices drifted lower as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia pledged to keep oil markets supplied. The Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said that the Kingdom would play a "constructive and responsible role" in world energy markets. As per ICM trading platform, the West Texas Intermediate crude futures traded at a low of $68.92 per barrel, and the Brent futures traded at a low of $79.17 per barrel. The American Petroleum Institute will report the weekly crude oil stock later today.

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