Forex news for New York trade on September 21, 2021:
- US housing starts for August 1.615M versus 1.55M estimate
- Philadelphia Fed nonmanufacturing activity index 9.6 versus 39.1 last month
- Canada new housing price index for August 0.7% versus 0.8% estimate
- US current account for the second quarter -190.3 billion versus -193B estimate
- US sells 20-year bonds at 1.795% vs 1.797% WI
- Citi warns of risks of inflation expectations de-anchoring after poll
- New Zealand GDT price index +1.0%
- Biden says will pursue new roles of global trade to level playing field
- Atlanta Fed GDPNow ticks up to 3.7% from 3.6% after housing data today
Markets:
- Gold up $10 to $1774
- US 10-year yields up 1.5 bps to 1.324%
- WTI crude up 11 cents to $70.56
- S&P 500 down 3 points to 4354
- JPY leads, NZD lags
Coming into US trading it looked like a decent bounce was brewing in risk trades but once again, equity sellers hit at the open and so did sellers of commodities and that led to a bid in the yen and a slump in the commodity currencies.
The post-election glow didn't last long in CAD as oil prices gave back gains and USD/CAD ran to 1.2850 from 1.2750. Since then it's settled at 1.2809.
USD/JPY has been steadily sold ahead of the FOMC, falling to 109.20 from as high as 109.70 in Asian trade. It's on track to finish on the lows despite a modestly constructive tone in bonds.
EUR/USD ran up to 1.1750 where it hit a wall of sellers before falling back to 1.1715 then bouncing to 1.1730 in a somewhat uneventful day.
Cable was even tighter with a 40 pip range in New York trade. The inflation expectations data got some attention but we'll need to hear it from the BOE before sterling makes a move.
Overall, the market is waiting for the Fed and for the next shoe to drop in China. There was much more noise than signal in today's trade but that undercurrent of negativity certainly hasn't gone away.
