Dollar stays on the backfoot amid more positive risk appetite

Equities are reflecting a more risk-on mood so far on the day and that is translating to a softer dollar in European morning trade. The greenback and the yen are the two weakest performers, as European stocks are seeing solid gains on the session alongside US futures. Here's a snapshot of the equities space before we get to some dollar charts: * Eurostoxx +1.3% * Germany DAX +1.1% * France CAC 40 +1.7% * UK FTSE +0.8% * S&P 500 futures +1.9%* * Nasdaq futures +2.0%* * Dow futures +1.7%* *relative to Friday levels The euro is among the better performers so far with EUR/USD climbing from 1.0520 to 1.0580 on the session, helped by continued hawkish remarks by ECB policymakers. The high last week near 1.0600 will offer up some minor resistance with the daily close one to watch as to whether buyers can keep a hold above the 50.0 Fib retracement level at 1.0566. For now, the near-term bias is more bullish upon the push above the 200-hour moving average (blue line) earlier in the day. Meanwhile, GBP/USD has also managed to climb above 1.2300 and is up 0.5% on the day currently: The 1.2400 level will still offer sterner resistance with traders continuing to try and sort out the divergence story in the pair. Elsewhere, USD/CAD is pinned near the lows and is down 0.5% to 1.2910 amid a double-top pattern being formed just above 1.3050: The better risk appetite and higher oil prices (WTI crude up 2% to $111.85) are both also contributing to a stronger loonie on the day. Looking at other commodity currencies, the gains are more measured with AUD/USD up 0.4% to 0.6975 and still keeping below 0.7000 and its 200-hour moving average at 0.6996. NZD/USD is up 0.3% to 0.6355 with the Friday high at 0.6395 keeping a lid on any upside push for the time being. This article was written by Justin Low at www.forexlive.com.
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