Forex news from the European trading session - 20 August 2018
Headlines:
- UBS says near-term upside in euro is "likely more limited than initially expected"
- Bundesbank says Q3 German growth may be somewhat slower than 1H 2018
- China shifts to Iranian tankers to keep crude purchases amid US sanctions - report
- Eurozone June construction output +0.2% vs +0.3% m/m prior
- SocGen says USD/TRY is heading towards 8.00
- Turkey's Erdogan: Attack on economy is no different from attack on our flag
- SNB total sight deposits w.e. 17 August CHF 576.7 bn vs CHF 576.1 bn prior
- UK economy forecast to expand 0.4% in Q3 - survey
- EU's Moscovici: Not necessarily that there has to be a Brexit deal
- Germany July PPI +0.2% vs +0.2% m/m expected
- Trump's tariffs have "unfavourable consequential impacts" on US economy - business survey
Markets:
- USD leads, NZD lags on the day
- European equities mostly higher, DAX leads gains
- Gold up 0.15% to $1,186.86
- WTI down 0.32% to $65.70
- US 10-year yields flat at 2.857%
- Bitcoin down 1.02% to $6,414
It's been a quiet and balmy start to the trading week as the session proved to be a rather tepid one. Things started with currencies trading range-bound for the most part as some spotlight was shun on bank stocks ahead of the European markets open after Turkey got its credit rating downgraded on Friday.
But European equities were unperturbed as a late surge in Chinese stocks helped to set the tone for the rest of the session in Europe as stocks trade higher for the most part. Other than that, the euro is one of the laggards on the day as it continued to track lower throughout the session.
Early on, the single currency moved lower across the board before the near-term trendline was broken just over an hour ago as the pair moved from 1.1430 to 1.1410 levels. As the dollar caught a bit of a bid towards the end, the pair fell below the 1.1400 level but has since recovered a little bit.
And that slight bid in the dollar was the only real notable action of note throughout the session and even then most major currencies remain in narrow ranges ahead of US trading.
Looking at individual currencies, USD/JPY has been trading at 110.50-60 levels throughout the entire session and is now near the highs as the dollar firmed up in the last hour. GBP/USD also has had a subdued session trading around 1.2730-40 levels for the most part.
As for commodity currencies, narrow ranges continue to prevail and they generally moved in tandem with the dollar's movement so the slight bid in the greenback in the last hour has moved the aussie, kiwi, and loonie close to session lows on the day.
But as mentioned, narrow ranges remain very much in play for most major currencies as we await US traders to step in.
