Euro wobbles ahead of German court ruling, risk appetite improves

Attention this morning was on the German constitutional court and its ruling on the ECB’s long-standing bond buying programme. This could limit the amount of bonds the Bundesbank can buy, potentially creating a rift with the ECB and other member states. The real concern is whether it could affect the €750bn Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme (PEPP), which has much looser rules than other QE programmes.

It’s high stakes – if the court blocks the Bundesbank from participating in QE it would be curtains for the ECB and creates significant Eurozone breakup risks. The good news is that the judges probably realise this. High stakes but the risk of serious ructions appears low.  The European Court of Justice has already ruled in favour of the ECB’s bond buying, so it’s hoped the German court will not rock the boat at this critical moment.

EURUSD was lower, breaking down at the 1.09 support having failed to sustain the move above 1.10 last week, which could open move back to around 1.0810. The euro seems to be displaying some degree of stress this morning ahead of the German court ruling. 

European markets rose after Asian equities made some gains. Markets in Japan, South Korea and China were shut for a holiday, but Hong Kong and Sydney rose. Wall Street closed a little higher after bulls pushed the S&P 500 into positive territory only in the final hour of trading yesterday. There is a little more risk appetite as oil prices climb. 

The Reserve Bank of Australia left rates on hold at the record low 0.25% and seems to be well dug in here. The RBA won’t go negative and won’t hike until the Covid-19 crisis is well in the rear view mirror. This is a pattern being repeated by most major central banks. 

Oil continues to make steady gains with front month WTI to $22 on hopes lockdowns are being lifted. The idea that we will be moving around anything like as much as before is fanciful, at least in the near term. New Zealand is going to be shut to foreigners – except perhaps their pan-Tasman pals – for a long time to come, the prime minister says. Ryanair has reported passenger numbers in April fell 99.6% and sees minimal traffic in May and June. Carnival is getting cruises going again – tentatively – in August. New car registrations in the UK collapsed in April, falling 97% to just 4,000 vehicles.

API data later today could show a very small build in inventories, but as always we prefer to look at tomorrow’s EIA figures. A small build would give more hope to oil bulls that the glut is not as bad as feared, however I would caution that we are simply seeing inventories naturally build more slowly as we approach tank tops.

Chart: EURUSD wobbles