Forex headlines for September 11, 2014:

  • US initial jobless claims 315k vs 300k exp
  • Draghi says red tape in Europe is sapping entrepreneurial spirits
  • Draghi repeats ready to take further action if needed
  • Canadian July new housing price index +0.0% m/m vs +0.2% m/m expected
  • BOJ’s Kuroda is paying attention to differing monetary policues
  • Kuroda: Doesn’t see current yen weakness as a minus for economy
  • Kuroda: Sees no need to change monetary policy stance at the moment
  • Constancio says ECB sovereign QE is “certainly” a possibility
  • Hilsenrath: “Considerable time” on the table at Sept meeting but Fed could wait until June
  • Bank of England says digital currencies pose no financial stability risk
  • Around 97% of Scots have registered to vote – what it means
  • Mass protest in Spain as Catalonians demand separatist referendum
  • US sells 30-year bonds 3.240% at vs 3.270% WI bid
  • US monthly budget at -128.7 B vs -130.0B estimate
  • S&P 500 up 1 point to 1996
  • Gold down $8 to $1242
  • WTI crude up $1.57 to $93.25
  • GBP leads, CAD lags

The theme today was the weakness in commodity currencies. NZD has been in freefall for a month but CAD and AUD had held up relatively well over the latest round of US dollar strength.

AUD/USD jumped on the employment data then it got absolutely smashed more than 100 pips lower and below 0.9100. We finish the day near the lowest since March and bounced were limited to 20-30 pips.

USD/CAD has been in a bit of a whipsaw for the past 6 weeks but it looks to have finally broke out. With the day winding down a close above 1.1000 is highly likely and the pair also briefly broke the April high of 1.1053. There was no CAD-specific news aside from some modestly weak housing numbers.

USD/JPY was a tough trade today. It hit a cycle high of 107.25 in Europe but skidded down to 1.0665 in early US trading on stock market weakness. Almost as quickly it ripped back to a new high at 107.20 then right back down to the bottom. A strong bond auction added momentary selling pressure but a rebound in stocks late pushed the pair back to 107.09 last.

EUR/USD ran to 1.2950 then back to 1.2920 then right back up and formed a double top. The support at 1.2920 broke in the last hour and some selling came in when Draghi talked about being ready for further action.

Make note! The next Scotland referendum poll is due at 5 pm ET (2100 GMT). Cable has been in a relatively tight 1.6225 to 1.6260 in US trading. The ability to hold the bounce is a small victory for the bulls but it could all change on the next poll.