What you need to know on Monday, May 4th:
The American dollar closed Friday mixed, down against its EUR and the JPY but up against other major rivals. Commodity-linked currencies were the ones that suffered the most, as Wall Street plunged.
The US April ISM Manufacturing PMI came in at 41.5, down fro the previous 49.1 but above the expected 36.9. The sub-components, however, were quite disappointing, particularly the employment one, which plunged to 27.5.
US President Trump menaced to impose fresh tariffs on China amid the miss-handling of the coronavirus outbreak, weighing on the market’s sentiment. Wall Street closed deep in the red, further undermined by dismal earnings reports.
UK PM Johnson was optimistic about the coronavirus situation, as he tweeted that the kingdom is “past the peak and on the downward slope.” Nevertheless, it is quite unlikely that the UK will lift the lockdown anytime soon, suggesting an extended economic setback ahead.
Gold prices recovered ground on Friday amid renewed risk aversion. Spot gold settled at around $1,700.00.
US crude oil settled just below $20.00 a barrel after Baker Hughes reported the number of active rigs declined for a seventh consecutive week to 408 from 465 in the previous week.
Cryptocurrencies spent Sunday consolidating near their recent highs. BTC/USD clings to modest gains above $9,000.
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