- US PPI -0.6%; ex-food and energy +0.1% in February
- Greek finance ministry: EU failure to act will hurt euro
- Greek PM: Will not leave Eurozone
- Bernanke: US having no trouble selling debt
- US yields mixed; 2-year note rises 1 bp in yield to 0.92%; 10-yr falls 1 bp to 3.64%
- S&P closes higher for 7th straight session, at 18 month high of 1166
- Gold falls, ends session -$6 at $1119; oil up $1 to $82.73
The us session was characterized as one of backing and filling by the major currencies and continued rallies among the commodity pairs.
EUR/USD pulled back during the US session running into selling at the 1.3780 area once this morning and again later in the session. The first move to the downside triggered trailing stops below the 1.3760 level. We fell as low as 1.3727, holding above the afternoon lows posted ahead of the Fed yesterday at 1.3716. Late afternoon EUR/JPY sales helped knock the pair lower in its range and we end the day around 1.3740, a disappointment for those hoping for a bullish close above the 1.3800 level.
EUR/JPY approached the highs posted late last week above 125.00 but failed miserably and ended the day heavily on the defensive, around the 123.95 level. A break of 123.30 support would be very bad technical news for this cross.
Cable spent most of the US session consolidating after a moonshot in London on unalloyed short-covering. Upbeat UK employment data helped prompted GBP shorts to dash headlong for the exits. Bulls experienced their own moments of doubt and pain as prices pulled all the way back to 1.5275 to inflict pain on latecomers to the pound’s party. We end the day at 1.5325, well clear of the downtrend line in place since mid-January, a bullish sign.
AUD and CAD each for the bulk of the North American session. USD/CAD triggered a barrier at 1.0100 and slipped as low as 1.0075 before stabilizing. That’s the Loonie’s firmest level since the summer of 2008. AUD/USD rallied to 0.9350 and ends the day well supported at 0.9235. Australian sellers are seen in the 0.9250/60 area, traders report.
