- ADP employment report 162,000; above expectations of 143,000
- Non-manufacturing ISM rises to 55.1 from 53.7; much stronger than anticipated
- MOF forex head Nakao: JPY’s strength does not reflect fundamentals, to act when needed
- ECB open to extending maturities on some Greek debt; will not take right downs: MNI
- Portugal raises taxes, says more austerity needed to hit budget targets
- Greek Fin Min: Big difference with Troika; hope to settle them by next Monday
- Nikeki: German finance minister open to Spanish bailout
- S&P 500 close up 0.4% at 1451
- US 10-yr note closes unch at 1.62%
A pretty quiet US session with upbeat US data having little lasting impact on most markets. USD/JPY was the main beneficiary of strong ADP and ISM data, pushing up to test the 61.8 retracement of the range in place since mid-September. Jawboning from the MOF’s chief forex official helped set the pace.
EUR/USD found repeated buying interest on dips to the 1.2880/90 region but rallies were anemic, only to 1.2925 in New York.
Commodities currencies were undermined by a slide of over $4 in oil prices. AUD/USD dipped below 1..02 in afternoon and traders are mindful of stops below 1.0160. Barriers at 1.0150 area rumored, of course.
