Support
Markets focus on US Retail Sales
Market attention shifts to US retail sales, expecting a slight slowdown month-to-month and a rise in core prices
Dollar index maintains stability around 106.00, reflecting last week's significant gains.
Oil prices retreat as geopolitical tensions ease, with Brent just below $90 and WTI stable around $84.27.
Bitcoin rebounds by 1.6% to $65,439.5 after hitting a weekend low of $61,000, while altcoins recover amid lingering rate jitters.
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In currencies
The dollar index held steady around 106.00, retaining last week’s gains which marked its largest weekly increase since 2022. Whilst the EURUSD hovered around 1.0650 after breaking below the 1.07 support late last week.
The dollar also traded at a 34-year high against the yen, at 153.24.
US retail sales are expected to have seen a slowdown month to month to 0.4% from 0.6% in March whilst Core retail sales are expected to show an uptick to 0.5% from 0.3% previous.
Oil prices
Oil prices retreated on Monday as geopolitical tensions deescalated. With Brent hovering a shy below $90 while WTI was stable near $84.27.
Both benchmarks experienced an uptick on Friday driven by geopolitical tensions, reaching their highest level since October. However, with prospects of de-escalation, prices have since retreated. Market expectations suggest that prices will persist within the $80 to $70 range, while heightened tensions could push them towards the $85 region.
Bitcoin
After sliding as low as $61,000 over the weekend, the world’s largest cryptocurrency has rebounded, rising by 1.6% in the past 24 hours to reach $65,439.5.
Other, Altcoins have rebounded from the weekend slump, showing signs of recovery. However, concerns regarding interest rate fluctuations continue to exert pressure on the market.
