December 9, 2016: The GBP is the strongest. The JPY is the weakest.

As the NA traders enter for the day, the CAD is the strongest while the JPY is the weakest. The GBP is strongest against the EUR and the JPY. The EURGBP is under pressure in trading today and the GBPJPY motored above the 100 hour MA and has kept going. The JPY is the weakest. Stock prices in Europe are higher. The US stocks are scheduled to open higher. The USDJPY was able to get above the upside resistance levels including the 100 week MA at the 114.67 level Seeing it is Friday - at the end of the week - that is more bullish news for the USDJPY (and other JPY pairs as well).

The changes and ranges for the major currency pairs mainly show ranges below the 22 day averages (about a month of trading). SO volatility is a bit lower. Yesterday the EURUSD move lower was the largest since Brexit. That tends to slow things down.

It is Friday and that means there could be position squaring. The calendar is light with preliminary University of Michigan consumer sentiment with expectations of 94.5 versus 93.8. US wholesale inventories for October (final) are expected to decline by -0.4%. Unchanged from the preliminary reading. Later in the morning the Atlanta Fed GDPNow current reading will be released. Later in the afternoon the weekly rig data will be released and even later the CFTC commitment of traders report will give us a picture into the speculative positions in each of the major currency pairs.

In other markets:

  • Montei Dei Paschi stock is down over 7% after a report that tthe ECB supervisory board has decided to reject the request for more time to raise capital. The FTSE Mib is lower by about 1%
  • Other European markets are still a bit higher. UK FTSE up 0.08%, euro stocks index +0.23%, France Up 0.4%,, German DAX near unchanged at +0.05%
  • In the US: Dow futures are +15 points, NASDAQ futures are +8 points,, S&P futures are currently unchanged
  • US notes and bonds are trading near unchanged on the day.
  • European 10 year yields are mostly higher. German bucks the trend at -5 basis points as there is a flow into the safety of the German bonds. France unchanged, Ital +4 basis points, Portugal +10 basis points. Spain +1 basis point, UK +2 basis points
  • Spot gold is lower once again - trading at $1167 -4 dollars or -0.35%
  • WTI crude oil futures are trading higher at $51.3, plus $.53 or +1.04%
  • Brent crude futures are trading at $54.29 plus $.39 or +0.72%