Forex trading news for April 27, 2015, US edition:
- Markit US April prelim services PMI 57.8 vs 58.8 expected
- Greek 10-year yields down 99 bps to 11.71%
- Greek bond yields down on negotiation reshuffle
- Tsipras willing to suspend minimum wage demands, says Bild
- Macedonia preparing contingency plans for Grexit
- Greece official: Reform law to be presented Wednesday
- UK election: Ashcroft poll gives Conservatives healthy lead
- March 2015 French jobseekers 3509.8k vs 3500.0k exp
- April Dallas Fed manufacturing index -16.0 vs -12.0 expected
- ECB public sector asset purchases total €85.01B vs €73.29B last week
- Gold up $23 to $1202
- WTI crude oil down 30-cents to $56.84
- US 10-year yields up 1 bps to 1.92%
- CAD leads, CHF lags
At the start of US trading, the US dollar was flying high. Only the Canadian dollar was narrowly ahead on the leaderboard. At the end of trading, the US dollar is near the bottom, ahead of only the Swiss franc.
What happened? There are no easy answers. The economic data was soft, but we're talking about some third-tier indicators. In Europe, the news was good with Varoufakis but onto the backburner in a sign that Tsipras wants a deal, not a default.
But the euro wasn't at the vanguard of the move. Rather, it was the high-flying pound, AUD and CAD at the forefront. The euro joined in and made its way 100 pips off the lows to 1.0920 before slipping back to 1.0883 late. The 1.10 is pointed to act as a magnet.
Cable has risen in 10 of the past 11 sessions with another gain today. It was lower in European trading but as New York arrived it began a long turn that ended in a fresh six-week high at 1.5262.
USD/CAD was under pressure even before North American trading and it's tough to figure out why. There is certainly some downward momentum but oil price were lower today. In any case, the pair matched the recent low at 1.2080.
AUD/USD hit a one-month high at 0.7872 as the April high of 0.7841 gave way to stops in a quick, 30 pip move higher. Some consolidation is now underway in a slide back to 0.7850. Keep an eye on the economic calendar in the hours ahead.
Gold was a bright spot. It looked to be breaking down on Friday but sentiment completely reversed and the dollar declines were a reason to load up. Prices caught a huge bid right at 10 am ET and never looked back.
The distinct lack of clear catalysts around month end and the FOMC makes me nervous but it might just be a continuation of the recent momentum in a quiet market.
