What you need to know on Wednesday, June 30:
The dollar appreciated against most major rivals, with the American currency reaching fresh one-week highs, particularly against high-yielding currencies. There was no particular catalyst as the greenback actually retreated in the final trading session of the day, despite better than anticipated US data.
The EUR/USD pair fell sub-1.1900 but holds above the June low in the 1.1840 price zone. Below such a level, the bearish case will likely gain momentum. GBP/USD settled around 1.3840, undermined by Brexit jitters related to the Northern Ireland Protocol.
AUD/USD fell toward the 0.7500 level, while USD/CAD flirts with 1.2400. The American currency strength and the modest performance of Wall Street weighed on commodity-linked currencies.
Gold plummeted to a fresh two-month low of $1,750.60 a troy ounce, bouncing ahead of the close to 1,761. Crude oil prices recovered some ground, with WTI settling at $73.40 a barrel.
Australia announced several lockdowns involving roughly 80% of the population, amid soaring coronavirus cases of the Delta variant. Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Darwin are among those cities that announced restrictions. The country reported over 100 cases in the last few days, a record jump, with just 4% of the population fully vaccinated.
The Delta variant is becoming dominant worldwide, although most vaccines have been proved effective against it when immunization is completed with two doses.
On Wednesday, the US will publish the ADP survey on private jobs creation ahead of the Nonfarm Payrolls report on Friday, the event of the week.
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