The euro was little changed against the dollar but exhibited high volatility. It sharply fell to new lows, but ECB policymakers said this week that a weak euro would go against the ECB's price stability objective and that a 50 bps rate hike could not be excluded if data suggests that inflation is growing. The European Union is still considering whether and how to impose sanctions on Russian oil imports.
The British pound strengthened against the dollar. The upbeat jobs report from the UK with the unemployment rate declining to 3.7% from 3.8% in the first quarter, and positive market sentiment after a heavy selloff last week fueled the uptrend of the pound.
The Japanese yen hovered below the 130 level consolidating after heavy losses. The benchmark 10-year US Treasury bond yield slid well below 3% providing support for the oversold yen.
Gold prices fell as speculation for an aggressive Fed pulled down the price of the precious metal. However, worries over the slowdown of the world’s economic growth provided support for gold prices at the 1800 level.
All major US stock indexes bottomed last Thursday as market participants were pricing in aggressive monetary policies of major central banks, the economic slowdown in China and supply chain issues.
Oil prices rose slightly last week, supported by the EU's ongoing push for a ban on Russian oil imports that would tighten supply and as investors focused on higher demand from an easing of China's COVID lockdowns. Further supporting prices was "intensifying geopolitical tensions" between the EU and Russia.