Forex news from the European morning session - 20 September 2019
Headlines:
- Fed's Bullard: I dissented Fed decision because a 50 bps rate cut was more appropriate
- Saudi Aramco: Confident to reach full production by end of September
- Brexit: UK non-papers said to be viewed as a backwards step by Barnier
- Ireland's Coveney: Backstop alternatives do not stand up to scrutiny
- Ireland's Coveney: We are still waiting for serious proposals from the UK
- Germany August PPI -0.5% vs -0.2% m/m expected
Markets:
- CHF leads, NZD lags on the day
- European equities higher; E-minis up 0.2%
- US 10-year yields up 0.4 bps to 1.788%
- Gold up 0.2% to $1,501.50
- WTI up 1.0% to $58.72
- Bitcoin down 1.1% to $10,150
It's been a choppy session for the most part as the dollar struggled initially amid weaker bond yields and equities before things flipped around towards the tail-end of the session.
That said, the pound was the notable mover as it picked up early bids - building up from where it left off overnight - as cable surged to a high of 1.2582 before consolidating around 1.2550-60 as European officials pushed back against Brexit optimism from yesterday.
Soon enough, the pound slipped and cable dropped as the dollar also firmed in a quick move towards 1.2500 where it is barely staying afloat currently.
The dollar's turnaround also came amid a pick up in yields but overall risk sentiment is rather modest and isn't telling of any significant risk-on/risk-off shifts.
EUR/USD fell off highs around 1.1068 to near session lows now around 1.1030 levels while AUD/USD eased from 0.6800 to 0.6780-90.
The yen and franc continued to hold steady for the most part with USD/JPY hugging 107.80-90 levels while USD/CHF stayed around 0.9900-20 for the most part.
Overall, markets still look choppy amid some indecisiveness after the FOMC meeting on Wednesday and traders are still largely looking for fresh sentiment/direction to guide them as we head towards the weekend.
In other news, I'll be taking a leave of absence over the next ~2.5 weeks so I want to wish everyone good luck with their trading in the mean time and hopefully I won't miss much during the interim, heh. ;)
