Forex news for North American trading on April 25, 2017:
- US April consumer confidence 120.3 vs 122.5 expected
- March 2017 US New Home Sales 0.621m vs 0.583m exp m/m
- Richmond Fed manufacturing index for April 20 vs. 16 est.
- FHFA Feb US house price index +0.8% m/m vs +0.4% exp
- US February Case-Shiller 20-city house price index +5.85% y/y vs +5.77% exp
- US sells 2-year notes at 1.280% vs 1.284% WI
- US Commerce Sec sees no immediate action on Canadian energy
- Macron/Le Pen 61/39 in latest IFOP French election poll
- Bank of Spain's Linde says Spanish tax forecasts are "a bit high"
- Caterpillar is upbeat on China
- Trudeau says he will deal 'firmly and reasonably' on US trade
- Trump goes after Canada daily farmers
- Philly Fed non-manufacturing index 30.1 vs 35.4 prior
Markets
- Gold down $13 to $1263
- WTI crude up 54-cents to $49.77
- US 10-year yields up 6.5 bps to 2.34%
- S&P 500 up 15 points to 2388
- EUR leads, JPY lags
The three big stories were yen crosses, CAD volatility and fresh recent highs in the euro. It was a lively day overall.
The upbeat tone after the French election continued for a second day, led by EUR/JPY. The pair added another 220 pips to 121.50 and finishing near the highs of the day. It was part of a broad round of yen selling that has also been driven by hope for Trump tax cuts and talk of better growth in China. USD/JPY was on a one-way climb to 111.15 from 109.75 starting midway through Asian trade.
The Canadian dollar was hit by Trump as the US slapped tariffs on Canadian lumber and the President promised retaliation against Canadian dairy. The early move was to buy USD/CAD and that sent it through key resistance at 1.3600 to the best levels in 14 months. But the gains didn't hold and it drifted back to 1.3565, in part due to the climb in oil.
The euro got a lift from a Reuters report saying the ECB may remove references to downside risks in the upcoming statement. That sent EURUSD about 30 pips higher where it retested Monday's opening high for about an hour before finally breaking higher. But not much higher as offers at 1.0950 capped the gains.
Cable grinded out a 40 pip gain as it consolidates the election move. It had been lower in Asia but made steady strides up to 1.2831.
