Sterling slumpsBy Vincent-Frédéric Mivelaz
Bears are biting the GBP/USD, currently at its November 2017 of 1.3090 and heading toward 1.3070. While the European Union is focused on migration, valuable time is being lost on solving the open issues of Brexit, especially the sort point of how to set a customs border with the Republic of Ireland.
An expected Bank of England interest rate increase on 2 August does not outweigh nerves about industrial exits. Airbus warned it could leaving the country if there is a hard Brexit. Heathrow Airport Holdings went one step further, announcing a departure from its Oxford headquarters to the Netherlands, in order to remain under EU law after Brexit.
Markets are nervousBy Arnaud Masset
Markets are in limbo as trade war uncertainties linger. Asian equities closed in the red: the Nikkei was flat, the Chinese CSI 300 fell 1.03%, the Indonesian JCI erased 1.67%. European equities are hesitant in early trading; the lack of good news could most likely translate into further weakness. The VIX indexed eased to 17.09 from 17.91.
In FX, investors favour safe assets. The greenback consolidated gains this morning with the Dollar Index stabilising around 95.4 after testing 95.50 resistance (high from 21 June). A breakout cannot be out ruled; however, the buck is in overbought territory against most of its peers, which suggests a pullback. EUR/USD is testing support at 1.1510, USD/CHF failed to break 0.9990.