Ella 
Here’s what you need to know for Monday, August 14:
The dollar strengthened against its main rivals at the start of the new week, with safe-haven flows dominating financial markets. The dollar index extended its rally to 103.00 after closing in positive territory for the previous four weeks and touched its highest level since early July. The economic calendar on Monday will not feature any data of significant impact, and risk awareness is likely to continue to be the main driver of the market.
Chinese real estate giant Country Garden Holdings announced it would suspend trading in 11 onshore bonds from next Monday, following Friday’s warning of a $7.6 billion loss in the first half of the year. The company’s shares fell nearly 20% on Monday, dragging Hong Kong’s Hang Seng down 2%. The Shanghai Composite fell 0.3%, while the CSI 300 lost 0.75%. Moody’s Investors Service has warned that the crisis in County Park could spread to other real estate and financial markets in the country and delay the recovery of the struggling real estate sector.
Meanwhile, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) was reported to be selling an unlimited amount of Japanese Government Bonds (JGB) with remaining maturities of 5-10 years at a fixed rate during Asian morning trade on Monday. USD/JPY briefly touched above 145.20, its highest level since November, before falling back below 145.00.
The China-sensitive AUD and NZD continued to come under bearish pressure at the start of the week. At press time, NZD/USD was down 0.3%, trading below 0.6000, the lowest level in 10 months; AUD/USD was down 0.35% at 0.6475.
EUR/USD continued to trade lower, trading below 1.0950 during the European morning. Earlier data from Germany showed that the wholesale price index fell by an annualized 2.8% in July.
GBP/USD was steady, consolidating last week’s losses below 1.2700. On Tuesday, the ONS is due to release labor market data, followed by Wednesday’s high-profile inflation report.
Gold prices traded sideways around $1,910 an ounce on Monday after sliding the previous week. The 10-year US Treasury yield remained above 4.1%, making it difficult for XAU/USD to rebound.
Bitcoin continues to trade within a narrow channel just below $29,500. Ethereum maintained modest gains around $1,850 early Monday, but struggled to make decisive progress in either direction.
