Forex news for North American trading on May 17, 2018:
- Philly Fed 34.4 vs 21.0 expected
- Initial jobless claims 222K vs 215K expected
- Chinese negotiators plan mammoth package of promises to US - report
- Trump says EU has been terrible to the US on trade and that Iran sanctions will be massive
- Trump: If meeting with North Korea happens, it happens, if not we move on
- Fed's Kaplan says US either at or past full employment
- Canada's FM Morneau: NAFTA has been a tough negotiation for Canada
- Fed's Kashkari: Lack of affordable housing shows something is broken
- ECB's Constancio: Slight slowdown in growth was expected
- US April leading index +0.4% vs +0.4% expected
Markets:
- Gold flat at $1291
- WTI crude up 6-cents to $71.55
- US 10-year yields up 1.5 bps to 3.11%
- S&P 500 down 2 points to 2720
- GBP leads, JPY lags
The action was limited in part due to a quiet economic calendar. EUR/USD chopped in a tightening range to finish just below 1.18 and cable followed a similar path to 1.35.
USD/JPY was the bigger story as US long bonds climbed to 3.25%, breaking a major triple top before settling just underneath the key level. That helped USD/JPY to a high of 110.86 in the second day above the 200-day moving average. Still, most of the gains came before New York arrived.
USD/CAD climbed higher but only modestly as it consolidates around 1.2800.
AUD/USD couldn't hang onto the jobs-report gains and settled near 0.7510.
In the bigger picture, concerns about trade were a drag on the US dollar after Trump called China "very spoiled on trade" as top officials from China and the US meet to try to find a way to improve trade.