The financial markets saw an intriguing shift at the start of trading on Wednesday (May 7, 2025). This was primarily due to US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s announcement that he, along with US trade representative Jamieson Greer, will be meeting with representatives from China in Switzerland this week.
This news is likely to influence market movements during the European trading session, alongside upcoming economic data from Europe. Additionally, the Federal Reserve is scheduled to announce its monetary policy on Thursday at 1:00 AM WIB, which is also attracting attention. Here are the key data points from Trading Central:
Recommended
Recommended
Recommended
Recommended
Factory orders data from Germany (month-on-month/Mar) will be released at 12:00 WIB; forecast 0.3% compared to the previous 0%.
Retail sales data for the Eurozone (year-on-year/Mar) will be announced at 16:00 WIB; forecast 1.9% versus the previous 2.3%.
GOLD
Gold prices (XAUUSD) plummeted nearly $70 or 700 pips to $3,360.22 per troy ounce after surging over $96 on Tuesday. The drop in gold prices was attributed to Bessent’s remarks, which raised hopes for a trade agreement that could lead to lower import tariffs. Prior to this, President Donald Trump had indicated that tariffs on China could significantly decrease if a satisfactory trade deal is reached.
This has diminished gold’s appeal as a safe haven, resulting in the price decline. The pressure on gold may continue ahead of the Fed’s announcement later tonight.
OIL
Oil prices (CLS10) continued to rise during today’s trading, reaching a daily high of $59.73 per barrel. The positive sentiment in oil markets is driven by the potential for a US-China trade agreement.
Should an agreement be reached, it is expected that import tariffs may be reduced, resulting in an improvement in the global economy, which could lead to higher oil demand. This sentiment is still expected to influence oil trading during the European session.
EURUSD
The EURUSD pair declined in early trading, hitting a daily low of 1.13252. Compared to Tuesday’s closing prices, EURUSD fell nearly 400 points (40 pips) before rebounding.
The US dollar strengthened in response to the prospects of a US-China trade deal. Pressure on the EURUSD may increase if the retail sales data for the Eurozone is released lower than the forecast, especially if the German factory orders data also comes in below 0.3%.
GBPUSD
GBPUSD dropped 319 points (31.9 pips) to 1.33329 before slowly regaining some of its losses. The pair is experiencing pressure from hopes surrounding a potential US-China trade agreement.
This sentiment will continue to impact GBPUSD trading in the European session.
USDJPY
The USDJPY surged 964 points (96.4 pips) to 143.323 early today, following a three-day downturn. The rebound indicates that the US dollar is gaining strength amid easing trade tensions.
In addition to the planned US-China trade negotiations, President Trump had earlier expressed the possibility of a trade agreement with India, South Korea, and Japan.
This positive sentiment will likely influence USDJPY trading throughout the European session.
Nasdaq
The Nasdaq index climbed by 280 points to 20,126 at the beginning of today’s trading. Positive sentiment from the anticipated US-China trade negotiations is expected to continue affecting Nasdaq’s movements during the European trading session.
