Forex news for March 3, 2015 US edition:
- Canadian Q4 GDP 2.4% vs 2.0% expected
- Canada's Oliver says GDP data shows country moving in the expected direction
- US auto sales for February at 16.23m vs 16.6m expected
- January 2015 Canadian PPI -0.4% vs -0.7% exp m/m
- Fonterra globaldairytrade price index +1.1%
- ISM New York Feb 63.1 vs 44.5 prior
- Ukraine central bank to raise interest rates to 30% tomorrow
- US Justice Dept reviews 'last look' forex trades
- March 2015 US IBP TIPP economic optimism index 49.1 vs 47.8 exp
- Fed's Fisher urges a slow run off of QE - Livesquawk
- Gold down $4 to $1202
- WTI crude down 78-cents to $50.36
- US 10-year yields up 3.5 bps to 2.12%
- S&P 500 down 10 points to 2107
- AUD leads, CHF lags
Stronger Canadian GDP numbers followed a series of better reports over the past month and has swung the likelihood toward the BOC leaving rates unchanged tomorrow. Yet the Canadian dollar wasn't particularly impressed and only managed to hang on to about 35 pips despite the report and a round of broad US dollar weakness. USD/CAD initially fell 80 pips to as low as 1.2433 but has rebounded to 1.2488.
Then general theme was a weak US dollar. It began as automakers reported soft February sales data and the stock market declined. USD/JPY soon hit stops below 119.60 and quickly slid to 119.40, bounced and then to 119.38, forming an intraday double-bottom. That was the time to buy as the pair has climbed back to 119.70.
The euro made a daily high and a daily low in US trading, which is sure to have whipsawed some traders. The pair started US trading at a low of 1.1155, which was a fresh 5-week low. That might have looked like a green light to sell but the pair stormed to1.1218 despite some London fix sales. It then rolled back down to 1.1174.
Cable looked to be showing signs of bottoming in the recent retracement but kicked to fresh lows early in New York at 1.5345. From there it turned around and climbed to toward 1.5400 where it began to run into heavy offers. The late rebound in the dollar sent it back to 1.5360.
The Australian dollar made a fresh high in US trading as the momentum continued from the RBA but the new high was only marginal at 0.7844 in what was probably a disappointment for the bulls. From there, the Aussie slid back down to 0.7818.
Gold hit a $10 airpocket ahead of the London fix and fell to $1203, where it remains. If the BOC doesn't cut and the ECB and BOJ are done, maybe the bull case for gold isn't so strong?
