The Threat of a Trading War Continues to Put Pressure on the American Currency

On Friday, the US dollar weakened against the fears that the introduction of taxes on the steel and the aluminum import in the United States could lead to a global trading war. Canada, the European Union and China have very negatively perceived the introduction of duties and have stated that they may introduce their own protectionist measures. The US dollar index (#DX) closed in the negative zone (0.41%) on Friday.

During the Asian trading session, trading on the EUR/USD currency pair was very active. In Germany, the formation of the government, which lasted from September, was successfully completed. The Social Democratic Party of Germany supported the creation of a coalition with the party of Angela Merkel, which has a positive effect on the euro.

This week, investors will focus on the meetings of leading central banks and the US employment report for February, which will be published on Friday. Also the development of the situation regarding the proposed import duties in the US will be in the focus of attention.

The “black gold” prices recovered part of the losses. Futures for the WTI crude oil are testing at $61.40 per barrel.

Market Indicators

On Friday, there was a variety of trends in the US stock market: #SPY (+0.52%), #DIA (0.26%), #QQQ (+0.92%).

At the moment, the 10year US government bonds yield is at the level of 2.822.83%.

Statistics on business activity in the Eurozone at 11:00 (GMT+2:00);The index of business activity in the services sector in the UK at 11:30 (GMT+2:00);The volume of retail sales in the Eurozone at 12:00 (GMT+2:00);The index of business activity in the nonmanufacturing sector in the US from ISM at 17:00 (GMT+2:00).

by JustMarkets, 2018.03.05