- Fitch affirms Germany’s AAA rating
- ECB rumored to have bought Portuguese debt today
- EU’s Rehn: No restructuring of Irish or Greek debt necessary
- NBER: US recession ended in June 2009
- Obama: Cannot afford to extend Bush tax cuts
- RBA watcher McCrann: October RBA hike probable
- National Association of Home Builders sentiment survey flat at +13; 50 is neutral
- S&P soars through 1130 range top, 61.8% Fibo at 1141; closes at 1143.
- US yields close 4 bp lower at 2.70%; CRB stalls at 281 resistance
EUR/USD was buffeted from conflicting European and US currents today. A strong technical breakout to the topside in the S&P helped support risk appetites while record wide spreads between German benchmark and Irish and Portuguese bonds kept traders cautious on the EUR. EUR/USD rose to session highs of 1.3097 minutes after the 15:00 GMT fixing before easing back to the 1.3050s. We close at 1.3070. Morning dips were limited to 1.3030 where the BIS was a buyer.
AUD/USD was boosted by firm commodities, renewed fears of an RBA rate hike and the surge in US equities. It broke through 0.9475 where a barrier was struck and stalled just short of yet another barrier at the 0.9500 level. We close at the 0.9470, the highest close in more than two years.
USD/JPY barely traded today. The BOJ remains on the bid at 85.50, traders report, while rallies are limited to 85.80.
Cable continued lower today, weighed down by M&A-related sales, traders report. We slipped as low as 1.5540 in afternoon trade. GBP/CHF was reportedly the cross being sold today to fund a private-equity deal. It closes at 1.5552.
