Midnight Uncertainty

An algo trade caused the Euro to spike against its rivals in the early midnight European hours. The single curreny rose to 1.0652 against the dollar due to a trade that was designed to take advantage of the low liquidity in the markets at that time. 

As a result, the most effect was felt in Gold as safe haven which climbed to a high of $1,163, USD/CHF went below 1.0050 and Silver went to 16.25.

This is the second time an algo trade has caught investors by surprise, the first time being the Sterling flash crash on 7 Oct when the Pound dived 6.1% against the dollar.

This time it was a bit lighter, however, traders were hurt as their stops were taken out during the unexpected move. 

It is yet to be investigated what exactly is behind that trade, presumably the reason is a computer generated order causing a reverse flash crash.