Forex news for New York trading on January 24, 2016:

  • S&P 500 touches intraday high and closes at record high
  • January 2017 US Richmond Fed manufacturing index 12 vs 7 exp
  • December US existing home sales 5.49m vs 5.51m expected
  • January 2017 US Markit manufacturing PMI flash 55.1 vs 54.5 exp
  • Germany to hold election on September 24. Opposition party shakeup
  • Trump promises to renegotiate some terms of Keystone XL
  • January 2017 US Philly Fed non-manufacturing index 37.7 vs 19.5 prior
  • US sells 2-year notes at 1.210% vs 1.205% WI
  • French jobseekers 3473K vs 3450K expected
  • ISM revises down Dec non-manufacturing to 56.6 vs 57.2 prior
  • The gloves are coming off in German politics
  • TPP can't happen without US: Canadian foreign minister
  • ECB's Praet: It's urgent to agree on a banking union timeline

Markets:

  • Gold down $8 to $1209
  • WTI crude up 35-cents to $53.10
  • S&P 500 up 14 points to 2280
  • US 10-year yields up 6 bps to 2.45%
  • CAD leads, JPY lags.

The US dollar was generally strong as the market cheer tighter inventories in the existing home sales report and another day without any mishaps in the Trump administration. It was a slow grind higher in USD/JPY up to 113.80 from 113.00 as yields and stocks moved higher.

The biggest headline in terms of markets was Trump signing an executive order to move forward pipeline approvals, including Keystone XL. That sent USD/CAD nearly 200 pips lower to 1.3106 from 1.3299. In addition, a climb in oil prices aided the Canadian dollar.

Coming into US trading, the big story was the Brexit Supreme Court decision. May will have to have a vote in Parliament but she won't need to get further approvals from Scotland, Wales or any regions. That initially hurt the pound and it fell as low as 1.2419 but it slowly clawed back most of the losses to finish near 1.2500, down 30 pips on the day.

The euro fought hard to climb above the Asian high of 1.0775 but faltered and then the bull threw in the towel in a steady move down to 1.0725.

If you're looking for something non-forex, here are the Oscar nominees for Best Picture