London Open Briefing: Wednesday, July 22, 2026

The London session opens with a cautious tone, following declines in Asian markets. The JP225 fell -1.61%, while XAUUSD gained +0.78%. US indices like USTEC and US500 were down -0.61% and -0.25% respectively, alongside European indices DE40 and UK100 which saw declines of -0.27% and -0.24%. The overall risk meter stands at -0.12, indicating a slight risk-off sentiment as the session begins.

Recent UK inflation data provides a mixed picture. CPI (GBP) registered 142.5. RPI m/m came in at 0.3%, surpassing the -0.2% consensus by +250.0%. However, CPIH m/m was 0.2%, below the 0.4% consensus by -50.0%. Core RPI m/m was 0.3%, above the 0.2% consensus by +50.0%. Core CPI y/y was 2.6%, below the 2.8% consensus by -7.1%, and Core CPI m/m was 0.3%, below the 0.6% consensus by -50.0%. This contributes to GBP being among the weaker currencies over the last 24 hours, down -0.22%, with NZD weakest at -0.47%. The USD was the strongest, up +0.36%.

Retail books show disagreement on AUDUSD and XAUUSD, with a 20 point spread. Crowd positioning on EURJPY shifted 8pt toward long, while XAUUSD saw a 9pt shift toward short. Looking ahead, the US session will feature the EIA Crude Oil Stocks Change at 14:30 UTC, with consensus at 1.978M. Also at 14:30 UTC is the EIA Cushing Crude Oil Stocks Change. A 20-Year Bond Auction is scheduled for 17:00 UTC, following a previous yield of 4.927%. Later, President Trump Speaks at 19:00 UTC.

Traders will be particularly focused on the EIA Crude Oil Stocks Change data later today.

Scheduled this session (High and Medium impact)

Times are UTC. This brief describes measured market state and the published schedule. It is not financial advice and nothing in it is a trade recommendation.