LONDON SUMMARY

The final London Session of the week was quite unique. Trading was completely void of both volume and volatility for two main reasons. First, the Good Friday holiday has many banks running lighter staffs than normal. In addition, both European and U.S. equity markets are closed. Treasury and commodity markets are on abbreviated sessions. Second, the critical March U.S. Non-Farm Payroll (NFP) economic data number is scheduled to be released at 0830 EDT (0930 GMT). As was the case yesterday before the Bank of England rate decision, many market participants look to reduce risk ahead of these potentially volatile events. This tends to reduce overall activity. In summary, the combination of Good Friday and NFP have left London traders in a motionless market.

The overlap in Asia and London Sessions allowed for the majority of the movement, simply because Asia was fully staffed today. GBP/USD saw the most activity within an estimated 35 pip range. The pair was responsible for the lone notable London move when 1.9700 was briefly broken as Cable slid from a high around 1.9725. The price action we saw on the move demonstrated the lack of liquidity. (Liquidity is the degree to which an asset can be bought or sold in the market without affecting the price.) When a relatively small amount of sellers hit GBP/USD, there was an exaggerated move to a low in the 1.9690 zone. As the charts show, the pair found eager buyers and returned above 1.9700.

In other currency pairs, the theme was consistent. A EUR/USD range of less than 15 pips and USD/JPY span of about 20 pips reveals the quiet nature of the London Session. For those who will be involved in the market to close out week on the holiday, the focus will be on the U.S. Non-Farm payroll release in less than two hours from now.

Upcoming Economic Data Releases (New York Session)

0830 EDT March U.S. Non-Farm Payrolls, consensus: +130k

0830 EDT March U.S. Unemployment Rate, consensus: 4.6%

1000 EDT February U.S. Wholesale Inventories, consensus: +0.4%