Forex news for North American trading on January 31, 2019:
- ECB's Weidmann: German GDP probably 'well below' 1.5% in 2019
- US November new home sales 657K vs 570K expected
- January Chicago PMI 56.7 vs 61.5 expected
- US employment cost index for 4Q 0.7% versus 0.8% expected
- US initial jobless claims 253K versus 215K estimate
- Canada November GDP -0.1% vs -0.1% expected
- Trump says Xi sent letter hoping that both sides can meet half way
- Trump: Does not know if he will postpone tariffs on China post March 1
- BOC Wilkins: Worries alot about US/China trade war
- Wilkins: Weak wage growth may mean job market has room to run
- Atlanta Fed GDPNow estimate for 4Q GDP growth remains at 2.7%
- Trump considering Herman Cain for Federal Reserve
- ECB's Weidmann: German GDP probably 'well below' 1.5% in 2019
Markets:
- S&P 500 up 23 points to 2704
- WTI crude down 32-cents to $53.90
- US 10-year yields down 4.6 bps to 2.63%
- AUD leads on the day, EUR lags
- CAD leads on the month, CHF lags
Month end was choppy with dollar selling hitting into the London fix and boosting cable, AUD and NZD to the best levels of the day. That reversed afterwards and pulled the pairs down.
On the fundamental front, the ECB"s Weidmann hurt the euro with comments suggesting slower growth and no rush for the ECB to abandon negative rates. EUR/USD dropped to 1.1445 from 1.1480.
Gold and oil both rose to the best levels of the month early in New York trade only to give back the gains. Still, USD/CAD was down on the day as the loonie closed out a sparkling month.
Trump's comments on the China trade deal were non-committal but upbeat enough to fuel some late gains in risk assets.
