Forex trading headlines for the European morning session 23 August
- UK Q2 GDP second read revised up to +0.7% vs +0.6% exp
- German final Q2 GDP q/q +0.7% vs +0.7% exp/prev
- UK BBA mortgage approvals july 37.2k vs 37.3k
- ECB’s Nowotny sees no reason for interest rate cut now
- Nikkei closes up 2.21% at 13,660.55
- Shanghai comp index closes down 0.47% at 2057.46
- US president Obama says use of chemical weapons in Syria is a ” big event”
A mostly quiet session to finish the week with only the upward revision in UK Q2 GDP to 0.7% to cause any real impetus although USDJPY has been on a little walkabout between 98.73 and 99.14 in the meantime.
The UK data came in on the top end of expectations as per my preview and despite a quick rally from 1.5601 to 1.5638 GBPUSD has fallen back to 1.5585 as I type. EURGBP fell to 0.8541 but has since climbed back to test o/n highs above 0.8570.
USDJPY had a little run higher after the Nikkei closed but couldn’t launch a serious assault on strong offers between 99.20-50 and limped away at 99.14 only to fall slowly back to 98.73 before bouncing to 99.00 just now. Yen pairs have played follow the leader for the most part.
EURUSD has done little but we’ve seen some euro support again with German bunds trading lower on comments from ECB council member Nowotny that he couldn’t see reasons for a rate cut now.
AUDUSD got sold off to 0.8985 from 0.9015 as Europe sat down and although we did bounce back above 0.9000 the rally was short lived.
A frustrating morning, and largely comatose for the most part, but one that still provided a good degree of opportunity for those prepared to stay awake or not head to the pub.
Let’s hope we see a bit more action again now
