Forex news for North American trading on October 29, 2018:

Markets:

  • S&P 500 down 17 points to 2641
  • WTI crude down 85-cents to $66.74
  • NZD leads, AUD lags
  • US 10-year yields up 1 bps to 3.07%
  • Gold down $3 to $1229

It was another lively day as the wild volatility in equity markets continues. S&P 500 futures were pointing to a +25 open and that quickly turned into a nearly 60 point rally but the jitters started soon after a two headlines weighed.

First, the UK talked about a digital tax on tech heavyweights and that started a slump in the Nasdaq. Later, stocks tumbled on the report about further US tariffs. It was bleak at one point with the S&P 500 more than 100 points from the highs but buyers emerged in the final 20 minutes to limit the damage.

Through it all, USD/JPY was in an extremely tight range from 112.19 to 112.56 and it basically didn't budge.

The selling in FX was far less than historical relationships would suggest, similarly to the past two weeks. There was some weakness on yen crosses and AUD/USD slid steadily down to 0.7054 from 0.7100.

Cable was under some pressure despite tighter budget forecasts. The market was looking for something more in the budget to stimulate growth but the focus was more on paying down debt and the pound slid to 1.2794 from 1.2850.

There was talk of euro selling on USD tax repatriation today but it didn't materialize in market moves as the euro traded near 1.1380 throughout the day.

We'll see you back tomorrow for more of this crazy rollercoaster.