Forex news for North American trade on September 25, 2018
- US September Conference Board consumer confidence 138.4 vs 132.1 expected
- Richmond Fed Manufacturing index for Sept 29 vs. 20 estimate
- May: Election isn't in national interest
- NAFTA: Lighthizer hints Mexico pact may need to be reopened if delayed
- May: She would prefer no-deal Brexit to Canada-style outcome
- Brexit: EU doc says there will be no 'frictionless' trade with UK
- Trump at UN: More sanctions will follow resumption of oil sanctions on Iran on Nov 5
- Dallas Fed service sector index 25.6 vs 21.5 prior
- US July FHFA house price index +0.2% vs +0.3% m/m expected
- July S&P CaseShiller US 20-city house price index +0.09% vs +0.10% m/m expected
- Philly Fed non-manufacturing index 37.4 vs 41.7 prior
- NAFTA: Trudeau sees a possibility to build on US-Mexico deal
Markets:
- Gold up $2 to $1201
- WTI crude up 21-cents to $72.29
- S&P 500 down 4 points to 2915
- US 10-year yields up 0.5 bps to 3.09%
- GBP leads, JPY lags
It wasn't the most-enthusiastic market but that's not a big surprise with the Fed coming up on Wednesday. There was a solid move in GBP and a grind elsewhere.
Cable finishes the day 60 pips higher and edged above the 61.8% retracement of Friday's drop as it hit 1.3194 before backing off by a dozen pips late. It was a grind higher from 1.3150 at the start of North American trade and a range up to 1.3175. Late in the day that broke with a modest push to the upside.
EUR/USD rose to 1.1793 and a session high early in New York but it wasn't able to hold the gains and backed off to 1.1768 but still finished 20 pips higher on the day.
USD/JPY finishes 15 pips higher. It had fallen into negative territory at the start of New York trade but slowly rose and held the gains as the front end of the curve moved up.
NAFTA headlines lifted USD/CAD to 1.2971 in a quick wobble but the market was happy to sell ahead of the figure and the pair slid back to 1.2952. Oil is helping the loonie but the news pipeline for NAFTA is filled with risks.
AUD and NZD both hit highs early in North American trade only to give it all back in a slow move, in part due to USD strength.
