Forex news for North American trade on December 3, 2018:
- US ISM manufacturing index for Nov. 59.3 vs 57.5 est
- Markit US Manufacturing PMI for Nov (F) at 55.3 vs 55.4 estimate
- Canada Markit Manufacturing PMI for November 54.9 vs 53.9 last
- France and Germany abandon ambitious plans for EU digital tax - report
- Fed's Kaplan: He is focused on not being pre-determined about rate path
- ECB Weidmann: policy will remain very expansive even after QE ends
- WH Econ advisor Kudlow: China commitments will start immediately
- Fed's Brainard: US economy at or beyond full employment
- US construction spending for Oct -0.1% vs 0.4% estimate
Markets:
- Gold up $8.50 to $1231
- WTI crude oil up $2.17 to $53.09
- US 10-year yields down 2 bps to 2.97%
- S&P 500 up 30 points to 2790
- NZD leads, GBP lags
The fallout from the Trump-Xi meeting wasn't quite as dramatic as it looked like it might be early in the day. The theme held with risk trades putting in a solid day and the S&P 500 staying above the critical 2750 line but the gains weren't as strong as they were earlier.
It was a similar story in the commodity currencies. AUD/USD rose as high as 0.7393 in Europe but finished 35 pips lower and briefly dipped into the opening gap.
The Canadian dollar was also digesting a decision by Alberta to cut oil production by 8.7%. Canadian oil climbed nearly 50% and that sent the pair down nearly a full cent to 0.3194.
USD/JPY was aided by the strong ISM report ahead of a big week for US economic data. It shows the economy continuing to hum along despite some of the worrisome headlines in the past month. It was a grind for the pair up to 113.70 from 113.50.
EUR/USD finished the day up 37 pips to 1.1355. It sagged to 1.1325 but made some headway at the European fix.
