- Initial jobless claims 386K vs 370K exp
- Prior claims revised to 388K from 380K
- France downgrade rumors, later denied
- US existing home sales fall 2.6%
- March US leading indicators +0.3% vs +0.2% exp
- Eurozone consumer confidence -19.8 vs -19.0 exp
- ECB’s Praet says crucial that ECB does not create adverse incentives
- DJ: IMF communique does not mention new funding commitments
- Fed confirms 2014 Volcker rule deadline
- Shirakawa: Japan still needs monetary stimulus
- ECB’s Asmussen: The ball is with the Spanish gov’t
- Can Fin Min Flaherty: European banks woefully undercapitalized
- S&P 500 falls 0.6% to 1377
- GBP leads, JPY lags
EUR/USD came into the US session in free fall because of a rumor about an imminent French downgrade. After hitting 1.3070, it began to reverse, climbing to 1.3153. The jobless claims data put pressure on USD but it was generally brushed aside.
USD/JPY fell after the claims data, initially down to 81.45 and then later to 81.39. In the afternoon, it chopped sideways before ending the day at 81.55.
Cable was also caught in the downgrade rumor but was held up by orders in the 1.6000/10 range before climbing back up to the European highs at 1.6073. It was unable to break through and drifted sideways.
Stocks were higher to flattish in the early going but risk aversion crept in hurting AUD and CAD. USD/CAD rallied as high as 0.9964 and AUD/USD fell as low as 1.0314.
