- Canadian retail sales rise 1.2% in May
- Bernanke: Too early to gauge impact of $787 bln stimulus plan; too early to discuss additional stimulus
- Peru to cut USD portion of foreign reserves to 62% from 80%: Central bank
- Goldman buys back TARP warrants from US government for $1.1 bln
- OMB director Orszag: US economy not yet robust; Q2 GDP contraction to be less severe; unemployment to keep rising
- IMF: China’s currency substantially undervalued; economy too export-dependent
- Latvian PM hopes for IMF deal but still differences
- US equities fall 0.1%; oil falls $0.25 to 65.36; copper rises 3.2%
EUR/USD stretched tight overnight ranges in both directions in the US, falling to 1.4155 after a string of soft earnings reports from banks, chief among them Morgan Stanley. Shares soon rebounded and traded as high as 1.4258. Reports of Peru cutting its dollar-reserve exposure and news that Goldman bought back its TARP warrants from the US government helped spur the move; the first on dollar fears of a continued global shift from the dollar, the second on a risk-assumption trade. We end at the familiar 1.4215 level, unchanged on the day and from last night’s close.
AUD and Kiwi were strong performers intraday though they faltered a bit late in the session. AUD worked through offers ahead of 0.8200 and triggered a few smallish stops, reaching 0.8212 before stalling. Whispers of RBA sales were passed around the market, though were unconfirmed. Upbeat comments from Goldman on the Australian economy (not reliant on exports to China) was a factor in the strength.
Kiwi broke to fresh highs for the move at 0.6630 after overcoming formidable resistance in the 0..6595/0.6605 region. It eased in afternoon trade and closed in the 0.6587 area.
USD/JPY fell sharply in US morning trade, triggering stops below 93.25 support. It soon rebounded however, amid reports that Japanese exporters (typically dollar sellers) were spotted on the bid today. Prices rebounded fairly quickly to the 93.85/90 area before stalling.
EUR/JPY fell as low as 132.10 before jumping to 133.60 in early afternoon.
Cable traded like cable does, down to 1.6355 from opening levels of 1.6445 before rising just above 1.65 after London left for home. We end the day just pips above where we started, at 1.6458.
