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Summary: Markets are showing little movement ahead of US PPI and retail sales data due later today.
- Markets are mostly quiet and relatively directionless, although it can be said that key US stock indices remain quite near their recent highs, so the line of least resistance is probably bullish. Markets will probably take direction from the PPI and Retail Sales data.
- The stock market euphoria earlier in the week over the news that the US and China had reached a "truce deal" reducing tariffs temporarily in their trade war has gone, despite President Trump announcing some large deals with Saudi Arabia and Qatar during his visits there this week, which he claimed will be worth over $1 trillion to the US economy, although the exact amount is disputed by many analysts.
- UK GDP data released earlier today was unexpectedly positive, showing GDP had increased by 0.2% month-on-month when no change was expected. The British Pound was slightly higher on the news, but not by much.
- In the Forex market the strongest major currency since the Tokyo open has been the Japanese Yen, while the Australian Dollar has been the weakest, putting the AUD/JPY currency cross in focus as a typically risk-on, risk-off barometer. There are no real strong trends left in the Forex market.
- Bitcoin seems to have finished topping out at about $105,000 and looks like it has finally made the bearish turn, so we might expect lower prices there over today.