Week in Brief
A softer than expected US jobs report on Friday reset Federal Reserve rate expectations, while BlackBull Markets cut its EUR/USD spread from 0.2 to 0.1 pips on Wednesday. Gold pushed toward $4,200 but broker spreads on XAU/USD stayed completely flat all five days. BlackBull Markets held the tightest or joint-tightest spread on five of the nine instruments tracked this week.
Spread Movements by Instrument
EUR/USD
Tightened at BlackBull Markets- Week range
- 0.66 to 0.73 pips average across brokers
- Cheapest
- Pepperstone at 0.1 pips (all five days), BlackBull Markets at 0.1 from Wednesday
- Notable
- BlackBull Markets tightened from 0.2 pips Monday to 0.1 pips by Wednesday, the largest single-broker move of the week on this pair.
GBP/USD
Stable among consistently-reporting brokers- Week range
- 0.50 to 0.87 pips average across brokers
- Cheapest
- BlackBull Markets at 0.1 pips (all five days)
- Notable
- Brokers reporting all five days held within a narrow band.
XAU/USD
Stable- Week range
- 0.21 USD average across brokers (unchanged all week)
- Cheapest
- BlackBull Markets at 0.12 USD (all five days)
- Notable
- Gold traded up toward $4,200 this week, but spreads at both reporting brokers did not move a single day.
WTI/USD
Stable among consistently-reporting brokers- Week range
- 5.2 to 11.4 pts among brokers reporting all five days
- Cheapest
- IG World at 2.8 pts (Monday to Thursday)
- Notable
- Brokers quoting all five days held between 5.2 and 11.4 pts.
US500
Widened slightly- Week range
- 0.4 to 1.35 pts across brokers
- Cheapest
- IG World at 0.4 pts (all five days)
- Notable
- Swissquote widened from 1.1 to 1.35 pts on Friday, a 22.7% move, the largest single-broker change on this instrument this week.
GER40
Stable- Week range
- 1.4 to 4.33 pts (two brokers reporting)
- Cheapest
- IG World at 1.4 pts (all five days)
- Notable
- Coverage remains limited to two brokers all week.
NAS100
Stable at BlackBull Markets; Swissquote fluctuated- Week range
- 1.0 to 3.2 pts (two brokers reporting)
- Cheapest
- BlackBull Markets at 1.0 pts (all five days)
- Notable
- Swissquote ran 3.2, 2.7, 2.2, 3.2, 3.2 pts Monday to Friday.
BTC/USD
Stable, slight widening at AvaTrade- Week range
- 23.62 to 25 USD among brokers reporting all five days
- Cheapest
- AvaTrade at 23.62 to 24.67 USD (all five days)
- Notable
- Brokers reporting all five days stayed within 23.62 to 25 USD.
USD/JPY
Stable- Week range
- 0.74 to 0.85 pips average across brokers
- Cheapest
- BlackBull Markets at 0.1 pips (four of five days)
- Notable
- USD/JPY reversed sharply from 162.60 to 160.60 this week as Yen strength returned. The average spread ended the week where it started, at 0.83 pips.
Broker Spotlight
BlackBull Markets held the tightest or joint-tightest spread on GBP/USD, USD/JPY, XAU/USD and NAS100 all five days this week, and on EUR/USD from Wednesday. Oanda was the most expensive broker on every pair it reported (EUR/USD at 1.4 pips, GBP/USD at 2.0 pips, USD/JPY at 1.4 pips).
Market Context
- Soft US jobs data released Friday reset Fed rate-hike expectations lower. BlackBull Markets had already cut its EUR/USD spread to 0.1 pips on Wednesday, and every other full-week EUR/USD quote held flat.
- USD/JPY reversed from 162.60 to 160.60 this week on renewed Yen strength. USD/JPY average spread ended the week unchanged at 0.83 pips.
- Gold rallied toward $4,200 on fading Fed hike bets. XAU/USD spreads at both core brokers stayed completely flat.
- GBP held firm near 1.3380, on track for its strongest week in three months. GBP/USD spreads held flat at four of the five brokers that reported the full week.
To Watch Next Week
- Week of 6 July: Federal Reserve commentary following the softer NFP print. Instruments to watch: EUR/USD, US500, XAU/USD
- Week of 6 July: global manufacturing PMI releases. Instruments to watch: EUR/USD, GER40, US500
- Week of 6 July: ECB commentary following the Euro's rally toward 1.16. Instruments to watch: EUR/USD