Forex news for US trading on February 28, 2018
- US Q4 GDP second reading +2.5% vs +2.5% expected
- US January pending home sales mm -4.7 % vs 0.5% exp
- Chicago Feb purchasing managers index 61.9 vs 64.1 exp
- Fed's Kashkari: Lack of wage growth signals there is still slack in jobs market
- Bill Ackman bails on his signature short trade
- Paul Manafort trial set for Sept 17
- US EIA weekly crude oil inventories +3019K vs +3000K expected
- US regulators considering changes to the Volcker rule that Wall Street has sought - report
- Canada Jan industrial product price mm 0.3% vs 0.5% exp
- Northern Ireland DUP leader says EU Brexit draft is constitutionally unacceptable
- UK's May says there will be no hard Irish border post-Brexit
Markets:
- Gold flat at $1317
- WTI crude down $1.53 to $61.48
- US 10-year yields down 2.7 bps to 2.866%
- S&P 500 down 24 points to 2719
- JPY leads, GBP lags
The yen stormed higher across the board as the selling of yen crosses into the London fix foreshadowed another stock close in stock markets.
GBP/JPY was particularly hard hit as it fell below the 200-day moving average and the February low. Worries about Brexit have begun to resurface, something we warned about yesterday. Cable also sank below the early-February low in a negative development. It fell more than 140 pips to 1.3769 in a stead decline that started in Europe.
USD/JPY was hit by a wave of selling as New York arrived. it took the pair out of a stable range just above 107.00 down to a low of 106.57. In the bigger picture, the consolidation around 107.00 is continuing for the second week.
EUR/USD also touched the lows of February and broke support in the process. The pair fell 35 pips on the day in a grind lower, punctuated by selling into the London fix.
USD/CAD continued to sizzle in a rip up to 1.2837. The softness in oil driven by US inventories helped to push the pair and it's now within striking distance of the late-2017 triple top just above 1.2900.
AUD/USD is the last of the big pairs that's threatening the Feb low. The Aussie is just above the 0.7750 key level after falling a quarter-cent today. A busy calendar in the day ahead or the turn of the month could be drivers.
