Forex news and economic data headlines 23 September 2016

News:

  • UK's Johnson says Article 50 would be triggered "probably in the early part" of 2017
  • Saudi Arabia ready to reduce oil output if Iran agrees to freeze output at current levels
  • Saudis propose output deal to Iran - Reuters
  • A Fed hike would show that it's possible to normalise inflation says Constancio
  • ECB's Constancio says low rates for long periods pose risks to financial stability
  • ECB's Villeroy says negative rates are a useful part of the toolkit
  • Hey guess what? Yep, cable on the slide again
  • Cable cracks appear through 1.3000 as Brexit plays out once again
  • Old Blighty saw a 2% y/y rise in foreign visitors after Brexit vote
  • USDJPY still can't make up its mind
  • Option expiries for the 10 am NY cut today 23 Sept
  • Nikkei 225 closes down -0.32% at 16,754.02

Data:

  • France Q2 GDP qq final -0.1% vs 0.0% exp
  • Eurozone Markit mftg PMI Sept flash 52.6 vs 51.5 exp
  • Germany Markit/BME mftg PMI Sept flash 54.3 vs 53.1 exp
  • France Markit mftg PMI Sept flash 49.5 vs 48.5 exp
  • Spain PPI Aug mm -0.2% vs 0.0% prev
  • Japan all industry activity index July mm +0.3% vs +0.2% exp

    • It's been another lively session that has seen yen and euro demand but the pound once again under pressure as Brexit uncertainties continue to dominate the landscape.

    USDPY kicked things off by failing to hold Asian gains above 101.20 and we saw a steady slide lower into 100.75 which in turn produced yen demand elsewhere capping initial rallies on core pairs.

    GBPJPY selling combined with EURGBP demand gave cable the shove lower and despite finding dip demand along the way the rallies have got ever weaker to eventually post lows of 1.2960. Overall the pound has had a bad end to the week as Brexit continues to cast its ugly shadow.

    USDJPY meanwhile had a look back above 101.00 again only to fall back to fresh lows of 100.68 and that has helped to cap EURUSD strength with EURJPY supply taking its toll. Large option expiries today at 1.1200 and 1.1250 are casting their shadow.

    USDCAD was holding its own but then comments on a Saudi/Iran oil deal sent oil prices soaring and the pair rapidly down to 1.3040 from 1.3085.

    AUD and NZD both have been underpinned but both subject to the yen-pair selling while USDCHF has found a few buyers below 0.9700 helped by underlying EURCHF demand still.

    A light calendar data wise but the NA session does bring us Canadian CPI and retail sales at 12.30 GMT.