Forex news from the European session - 14 November 2019
Headlines:
- Nigel Farage: Brexit Party to fight Labour in all of its seats
- China officially lifts ban on US poultry meat imports
- ECB's de Guindos: Countries with fiscal space should do more
- Eurozone Q3 GDP second reading +0.2% vs +0.2% q/q prelim
- UK October retail sales -0.1% vs +0.2% m/m expected
- US-China talks reportedly stuck on how to enforce farm goods purchases
- Bond yields continue to track lower on the session
- China said to have stuck with US soybeans purchases amid trade talk uncertainty
- China: Trade war began with tariffs, it should end by the US removing them
- Germany Q3 preliminary GDP +0.1% vs -0.1% q/q expected
- ECB's Rehn: Fiscal and monetary policies should align
Markets:
- JPY leads, AUD lags on the day
- European equities mixed; E-minis flat
- US 10-year yields down 5 bps to 1.835%
- Gold up 0.4% to $1,469.32
- WTI up 0.9% to $57.61
- Bitcoin down 1.9% to $8,587
Markets stayed in a bit of a mixed and cautious mood for the most part as traders and investors had little to work with during the European morning session.
Bonds continued to hint at more defensive risk flows, with yields slipping and that allowed the yen to stay firm. USD/JPY eased from around 108.70-75 to just under 108.60 as such.
Equities were a tad softer initially before finding some reprieve as China officially delivered on one minor point in trade talks - lifting the restriction on US poultry meat imports.
In truth, it's a bit of a win-win for both as China themselves are encountering a bit of a pork crisis as of late so the move definitely does help both sides to some extent.
That said, it wasn't enough to really lift the overall risk mood with the likes of the aussie, kiwi and loonie staying weaker. The aussie had earlier been dragged down by a softer jobs report and weaker Chinese factory, retail sales data.
AUD/USD tracked lower from 0.6700 to 0.6780 levels while NZD/USD stayed just under 0.6400 as the dollar also held steady throughout European morning trade.
The euro was kept in a narrow range despite German Q3 GDP confirming that the country avoided a technical recession. Meanwhile, cable bounced from lows of 1.2825 to 1.2867 before settling right in the middle again as buyers and sellers continue to do battle.
Looking ahead, there's the feeling that markets are still trying to find some real focus in US-China trade talks and until that happens, the constant state of flux and indecision is likely here to stay for a while longer.
