The European stock market has taken the relay baton from the Asian markets. At 13:40 EET the DAX, CAC40, FTSE100 and EuroStoxx50 were all trading up by 2%. The USD is strengthening against the yen and euro, whilst weakening against commodity currencies and the GBP. A barrel of Brent was up 8.04% from yesterday’s $27.96 minimum to $30.21.

Due to an increase in interest in risky assets, market participants have ignored German data from the ZEW center and the Eurozone balance of payments figures.

Germany’s business expectations for January stood at 10.2 (forecasted: 8.2, previous: 16.1). The same index for the Eurozone was 22.7 (forecasted: 27.9, previous: 33.9).

The Eurozone December CPI was 0.0% MoM and 2.0% YoY (forecasted: -0.1% MoM and 0.2% YoY, previous: -0.1% MoM and 0.2% YoY).

The Eurozone’s balance of payments in November was 26.8 billion euros (forecasted: 21.5, previous: 27.5).

The EUR/USD is trading around 1.0870 against a 1.0858 session minimum. The pound/dollar has lifted to 1.4236, using support from the pound/yen and euro/pound crosses. The GBP also received support from the stock indices growth and UK CPI figures.

The evening is left to the Americans. At 14:00 EET, the BoE’s Mark Carney began his speech. Traders are worried only about the date when interest rates will be lifted. If there are allusions to a rise, the pound will rise. If there’s no mention of rates, the pound will continue to trade at around 1.4270. The euro/dollar is expected to fall to 1.0850 and then rebound to 1.0890 today.

Source: alpari.com, “Demand for Risky Asset Up During European Trades”