The USD is mixed

As the markets digest the "fact" (Trump enacting the US tariffs on China and their response), the AUD and NZD are the strongest. The JPY is the weakest. The USD is mixed with gains vs the JPY and GBP, and losses vs the AUD, NZD, CAD, EUR and CHF. Overall, the pairs are close together which suggests the order can change with a headline here or there. Remember, this is still a fluid situation with more tariffs possible, meetings that may be canceled and restarted, retaliations, implications, etc.

Currency pairs like the AUDUSD and NZDUSD - which rely on a healthy China for export growth - initially fell on the headlines, but quickly recovered in what may have been a short squeeze.. You can see how the pairs price has been below and then above the unchanged line in the top chart below. It doesn't take much - especially if the technical bias turns around. Overall, vs the dollar, the changes from yesterday are contained in the morning snapshot with the largest change being 25 pips. The USDCHF is within 4 pips of the close from yesterday. Ranges are mixed. The AUDUSD is above the 22 day average range. The USDJPY is also at the 22 day average. The EURUSD and GBPUSD are modest at around 50 pips.

In other markets:

  • Gold is steady at -$0.32 or -0.03% at $1201.17
  • WTI crude oil is up $0.88 ore 1.28% at $69.78. Saudi Arabia has indicated they are comfortable with Brent above $80 per barrel (Brent is at $79.00 currently).
  • Bitcoin is trading up $59 at $6275.

US stocks have shrugged off the "fact" and are higher

  • Dow is up 66 points
  • S&P is up 6 points
  • Nasdaq is up 12.75 points

In the US debt market, yields are higher: