FOREX: Japanese Yen Outperforms Amid Dented Risk Sentiment

The trend condition in Gold remains bullish and price is trading at its recent highs. The yellow metal last week traded through $3167.8, the Apr 3 high, to resume the primary uptrend and trade to fresh all-time highs. A bearish theme in WTI futures remains intact and the rally last Wednesday is - for now - considered corrective. The move higher is allowing an oversold trend condition to unwind. Recent weakness has resulted in the breach of a number of important support levels.

• WTI Crude down $0.04 or -0.07% at $61.46
• Natural Gas up $0.01 or +0.33% at $3.331
• Gold spot up $18.16 or +0.57% at $3228.3
• Copper down $0.85 or -0.18% at $467.5
• Silver up $0.01 or +0.02% at $32.3408
• Platinum up $6.5 or +0.68% at $959.09

A short-term reversal higher in S&P E-Minis last week highlights the start of a corrective cycle. The trend condition has been oversold following recent weakness and the move higher is allowing this set-up to unwind. Eurostoxx 50 futures continue to trade above their recent lows. The latest bounce highlights the start of a corrective cycle and if this is correct, marks an unwinding of the recent oversold trend condition.

• Japan's NIKKEI closed higher by 285.18 pts or +0.84% at 34267.54 and the TOPIX ended 24.84 pts higher or +1% at 2513.35.
• Elsewhere, in China the SHANGHAI closed higher by 4.854 pts or +0.15% at 3267.662 and the HANG SENG ended 48.87 pts higher or +0.23% at 21466.27.
• Across Europe, Germany's DAX trades higher by 309.15 pts or +1.48% at 21264.04, FTSE 100 higher by 79.62 pts or +0.98% at 8213.99, CAC 40 up 35.65 pts or +0.49% at 7308.77 and Euro Stoxx 50 up 48.42 pts or +0.99% at 4959.81.
• Dow Jones mini up 27 pts or +0.07% at 40769, S&P 500 mini up 4 pts or +0.07% at 5444.5, NASDAQ mini up 42.75 pts or +0.23% at 18977.25.

• Similar 10-year auction result to March with a marginally tighter tail at 0.4bp (vs 0.5bp) but the lowest accepted price (LAP) coming in only just above the pre-auction secondary market price.
• The volume of bids was broadly in line with that seen last month too (with a respectable bid-to-cover of 2.85x vs 2.92x prior).
• The concession priced into gilts ahead of the auction has been reversed and we are now trading at similar levels seen around 10 minutes prior to the bidding window closing in both the 4.50% Mar-35 gilt and in futures.