Forex headlines for April 21, 2014:
- April Richmond Fed +7 vs +2 exp
- US March existing home sales 4.59M vs 4.56M expected
- Feb FHFA house price index +0.6% vs +0.5% exp
- April advance Eurozone consumer confidence -8.7 vs -9.3 expected
- Canadian Feb wholesale trade sales +1.1 vs +0.7% expected
- BOJ concerned about upside inflation risks – WSJ
- ECB’s Linde: If inflation doesn’t rise in April/May, ECB may be open to action
- DBRS changes US outlook to ‘stable’ from ‘low’
- Ukraine President calls for re-launch of ‘anti-terrorist’ operation
- Bernanke says US economy making ‘considerable progress’
- French government will hike deficit forecasts – report
- Swiss franc overvalued by 13% – SNB
- Oil down $2.24 to $102.13
- Gold down $6 to $1881
- US 10 year yields flat at 2.72%
- S&P 500 up 7.7 points to 1880
- AUD leads, CAD lags
The market was choppy but the underlying trend in US trading was US dollar strength, reversing the move in Europe.
EUR/USD came into US trading at 1.3816 and quickly bumped up to 1.3825 but that was the top and it quickly skidded down to 1.3789, hitting stops below 1.3810. Rising Treasury yields and decent economic data fueled the early moved but it was largely flow driven.
USD/JPY wasn’t the most exciting trade as it grinded up to 102.62 from about 10 pips lower.
GBP/USD stormed to a session high of 1.6839 at the start of US trading after a run-up in Europe. From there it was a sideways chop. Last at 1.6825.
USD/CAD edged lower to 1.1000 as the commodity currencies nabbed a broad bid but right at the big figure, some large bids came in and it was a quick move to 1.1042. A portion of the gains unraveled in a quick dip to 1.1013. Last at 1.1028.
The Aussie made most of its gains earlier in the day but hit some buy stops up to 0.9378 but then quickly back down to 0.9368 and sideways from there.
Oil was under broad pressure, falling to $101.76 as the double-top on the daily chart grows sharper.
