The euro continued to fall against the dollar. The outcome of the second round of French Presidential elections provided no relief to the euro. The European Union is considering price caps on Russian oil to hit Kremlin's revenues. The currency pair traded on Tuesday at its lowest level in more than two years, below 1.07. The British pound weakened strongly against the dollar, especially after April PMIs number pointed to a further weakening of the British economy. The pound also suffered from the Fed-Bank of England monetary policy divergence.
The Japanese yen consolidated after hitting its lowest level since May 2002. The benchmark 10-year US Treasury bond yield retreated and is currently around 2.8%.
Gold rose retreated last week after hawkish comment by Jerome Powell. He practically agreed for a half of a percentage point rate hike at the meeting scheduled for May the 4th. However, rising inflation all across the world is pushing gold higher. The IMF revised global inflation figures to the upside. A ceasefire in Ukraine is still out of reach, while military activities continue.
Last week, all major US stock indexes slumped. The earnings season is entering its third week with big tech companies reporting their quarterly results. Apple will release its Q1 financial statements on Thursday.
Oil prices fell last week. China has expanded the mass coronavirus testing in Beijing and markets grow increasingly worried about a lockdown that would cause protracted immobility of people and supply-chain issues. The possibility of a European Union ban on Russian oil for its invasion of Ukraine continues to keep oil traders on edge.