- Case-Shiller home price index falls 2.2% in March, falls 19.1% in Q1 versus year ago
- US consumer confidence soars to 54.9 in May from 40.8 in April
- Chicago Fed National Activity Index rises to -2.06 from -3.36
- Belgian business sentiment improves to -27.6 for May from -29.4 in April
- Richmond Fed manufacturing survey +4 in May from -9 in April
- Dallas Fed survey rises to -21.5 from -31.6
- Martin Feldstein: Weak dollar will hurt European recovery
- GM debt holders reject restructuring plan; bankruptcy likely: Report
- BOE’s Besley: UK needs to mend “stressed” public finances
- IMF: Swiss economy faces sharp contraction
- Obama to visit Saudi Arabia June 4
- US 10-year notes rise to 3.52%
- S&P 500 average rises 2.6%
The dollar opened the US session essentially at its highs and slipped throughout the morning. Oversold conditions in EUR/USD helped spark an intraday bounce and upbeat US economic data (consumer confidence, Fed surveys) fueled resumed risk-taking. Steady interest to sell JPY versus a basket of currencies like AUD, CAD, ZAR and BRL were a popular theme today. Carry traders and Japanese investment trusts were both active buyers, traders say.
EUR/USD opened at 1.3875 and rose as high at 1.4005, supported by equities. EUR/JPY mirrored EUR/USD, stalling on rebounds toward 133.00 from early levels of 131.50.
USD/JPY was cross-bound, gradually rising back to the 95.00 level in quite afternoon trade after a choppy morning saw a few waves of selling which knocked the pair to 94.50. Stops are building above the 95.20 area, dealers report.
Cable, CAD and AUD each made new highs or matched last week’s trend highs. Cable broke through 1.5950 barriers, reaching 1.5968. Large barriers at 1.600 are the near-term focus.
