FX news for US trading on July 16, 2015:

  • ECB raises Greek ELA by €900m
  • ECB statement: Info since June is broadly in line with expectations
  • ECB's Draghi: Greek debt relief is necessary
  • US initial jobless claims 281k vs 285k exp
  • July Philly Fed business outlook 5.7 vs 12.0 expected
  • NAHB July US housing market index 60 vs 59 expected
  • Schaeuble on Greek debt haircut: "Nein"
  • Gold down $4 to $1145
  • WTI crude oil down 39-cents to $51.02
  • S&P 500 up 16 points to 2124
  • US 10-year yields down 1 bps to 2.34%
  • Nasdaq sets all time closing record, up 1.3% (more after hours)
  • AUD leads, NZD lags

We learned a few things from the ECB but nothing earth-shattering. The economic assessment gave a lift to the euro but it was quickly wiped out. The FX market reacted little to the Greek ELA but European stocks rallied.

After the press conference a second wave of euro buying hit and pulled it from a session low of 1.0856 to 1.0927 at the options cut. From there, the sellers returned in a broad USD mini-rally and it slipped to 1.0875 at the end of the week (hold your horses there buddy ... its Friday here in the world's greatest country but not the weekend yet - Eamonn) day.

USD/JPY hit a session high of 124.18 very early in US trading but slipped into the options cut, falling to 123.89. Steady buying from there took it back to 124.13. Yellen had very little effect, if any.

Cable hit a bump today, falling to 1.5560 from 1.5615 but the dip buyers were ready and it climbed all the way back. A second dip also found support and the pair finishes only modestly lower on the day at 1.5612.

USD/CAD finishes at the highs of the day at 1.2966. Dips toward 1.2900 have found good support since the BOC cut. A touch off 1.2906 at the options cut set the stage for a steady rally to the highs.

The Aussie was generally perky as it clawed back some of yesterday's losses. The high of 0.7437 peaked just above the 61.8% retracement of the slump on Wednesday but some sellers appeared late and drove it to 0.7401. There were some massive options running off in AUD and that was the buzz. The lows in USD right across the board today were at the cut.