Forex news for North American trading on March 20, 2018
- G20 Comminique: Leader recognize need for further dialogue and actions on trade
- EU Barnier: Not at the end of the road on Brexit
- Eurozone March consumer confidence +0.1 vs 0.0 expected
- GDT price index -1.2% vs -0.6% prev
- The January Philly Fed Non-manufacturing index 30.1 vs 31.0 in February
- Canada January wholesale trade sales mm 0.1% vs 0.0% exp
- Treasury Secretary Mnuchin: Wants free and reciprocal trade
Markets:
- US dollar leads, New Zealand dollar lags
- Gold down $6 to $1310
- WTI crude up $1.34 to $63.40
- US 10-year yields up 3 bps to 2.88%
- S&P 500 up 4 points to 2717
Yesterday the euro rallied, today it gave it all back. And more. EUR/USD formed a double top at 1.2360 and steadily sank from there to finish at a session low of 1.2246.
The US dollar was generally strong across the board for the second day as Treasury yields ticked higher and on positioning for a hawkish Fed. Cable climbed early in the day but peaked at 1.4060 and sank down to 1.3980 before bouncing to 1.4000 at day's end.
USD/JPY jumped to 106.60 early then dropped down to 106.10. Stocks weren't a driver today as the main US indexes traded in narrow ranges. Some steady late buying helped the pair back to 106.50.
The commodity currencies were soft, especially AUD and NZD. The Australian dollar broke the weekly low and hit a new low for the year of 0.7679.