Forex news for North American trading on December 5, 2017:
- November ISM non-manufacturing index 57.4 vs 59.0 expected
- November final Markit services PMI 54.5 vs 55.2 expected
- New Zealand GlobalDairyTrade auction +0.4%
- DUP's Dodds says they don't want to see Brexit talks fail
- Canada Oct total crude oil imports 597k bpd vs 793k bpd prev
- Canadian Oct trade balance CAD -1.47bln vs -2.7bln exp
- US Oct trade balance USD -48.7bln vs -47.5bln exp
- McConnell: Corporate tax rate should stay at 20%
- Russia banned from Pyeongchang Olympic games
- Lebanon's Hariri rescinds resignation
- Senior EU diplomat says waiting for a Brexit proposal on Wednesday
- Jerome Powell gets bipartisan support from Senate finance committee
- UK's Davis remains confident of a positive conclusion to Brexit talks by end of the week
Markets:
- Gold down $9 to $1266
- WTI crude up 17 cents to $57.64
- US 10-year yields down 2 points to 2.35%
- S&P 500 down 9 points to 2629
- NZD leads, EUR lags
No single theme grabbed the attention of markets. There is a sense that everyone wants to wait and hear from Congress (on tax reform) and central banks (on rates) before making any kind of move. Add in year-end and it's a recipe for waiting and seeing.
One theme was euro weakness as EUR/USD slid lower until bids at 1.1800 and the 100-day moving avg just below. After touching the figure, the pair bounced to 1.1828 in part because of risk aversion in stocks.
USD/CAD made steady progress higher, erasing early losses and then some. That came despite better Canadian trade numbers. The market is net long and the climb likely reflected some lightening up on shorts before Wednesday's BOC.
USD/JPY tried offers at 112.90 three times but couldn't break through. The bonds story remains the stubborn bid (and lower yields) so that weighed and pulled the pair down to 112.54.
Cable sank early in Europe on Brexit disarray but there is budding optimism that something good will come Wednesday. The pair climbed to 1.3445 from as low as 1.3371.
The RBA decision was a small dose of good news for AUD/USD but declines in copper and metals prices spooked the commodity currencies and the pair gave back 30 pips to finish virtually flat on the day.
