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Here is what you need to know on Monday, October 5:
The coronavirus extended its claws to the White House. US President Trump announced on Friday that he and his wife Melania contracted COVID-19. As the day went by, the news reported that several of his advisor and staff members also caught the virus. Risk-off lead the way, helping the greenback to recover some ground. Nevertheless, the US currency ended the week with losses against all of its major rivals.
Trump’s health is the main theme ahead of the weekly opening. Weekend reports about his progress were contradictory, although Trump himself published a video late Saturday, indicating that he is feeling a bit better and that he continues to lead the country. The news few days will be critical, and headlines related to his health will likely trigger risk-sentiment related movements across the board.
On Friday, the US published the September monthly employment report, which showed that the country added a measly 661K new jobs, well below expected. The report fueled the dismal mood. The EUR/USD pair finished the day at around 1.1715, holding on to modest weekly gains.
The GBP/USD pair ended the week with substantial gains near 1.2978, amid hopes for a post-Brexit trade deal. Over the weekend, UK PM Boris Johnson and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen met and approved a further month of negotiations after agreeing progress has been made but ”significant gaps” remain. Chief negotiators have been instructed to ”work intensively” to close such gaps.
The USD/JPY pair traded alongside US Treasury yields, ending the week unchanged at around 105.40. Yields advanced, despite the risk-off mood that put equities under selling pressure.
Commodity-linked currencies were among the best performers, holding on to most of their weekly gains, despite falls in gold and crude oil. Gold flirted with 1,920 to settle at 1,890. WTI settled at $37.00 a barrel, its lowest settlement in three weeks.
Australia and China are on holidays at the beginning of the week, although the first will release some macroeconomic figures.
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