Forex news from the European trading session - 26 September 2018
Headlines:
- EU said to worried about uncertainty in UK over Brexit deal
- US MBA mortgage applications w.e. 21 September +2.9% vs +1.6% prior
- Barnier says working for an orderly Brexit and a new partnership that respects UK's sovereignty
- China's says it will cut import tariffs for some products
- UK CBI September retailing reported sales 23 vs 19 expected
- More from Tria: Budget will include citizens' income
- Italy's Tria: Growth-friendly policies can be gradually implemented
- ECB's Praet says growth risks are mounting but is not excessively worried
- UK Finance August mortgage approvals 39.40k vs 39.58k prior
- Investors choose to see the good side of Italian budget discussions
- Switzerland September Credit Suisse investor sentiment -30.8 vs -14.3 prior
- France September consumer confidence 94 vs 97 expected
- EU's Moscovici says Italy's deficit must be well below 2%
Markets:
- NZD leads, CHF lags on the day
- European equities mixed
- Gold down 0.27% to $1,198.10
- WTI down 0.32% to $72.05
- US 10-year yields down 1.3 bps to 3.083%
- Bitcin up 1.85% to $6,505
The session started off with the usual pre-FOMC lull as markets traded sideways and that pretty much encompassed most of trading that we're seeing so far today.
The aussie and kiwi were leading the charge at the start following a boost from NZ business confidence in Asian trading. AUD/USD started around 0.7275 before tailing off to near unchanged levels at 0.7255 in the last hour or so. Meanwhile, NZD/USD started the session close to 0.6680 before slipping to 0.6650 levels seen at the moment as well.
The rest of the market was pretty much steady as equities were mixed and bonds were relatively unchanged early on. The pound slipped a little in early trades as cable fell from 1.3175 to test the 100-hour MA @ 1.3160. Then, as bond yields slipped a little the pound was dragged lower with cable falling close to 1.3150 on that with GBP/JPY moving to session lows at the time as well.
Yen pairs in general fell but the ranges for other major currencies were still relatively narrow. Even in EUR/USD, the pair was trading in a mere 25 pips at the time between 1.1750 to 1.1775. And as the session draws to a close now, some slightly softer Brexit rhetoric saw the pound slip a little more as cable moved to a low of 1.3138 before trading at 1.3140 levels now. EUR/USD also moved lower to hit 1.1742 and is trading near that at the moment.
However, ranges remain relatively narrow for the most part as markets continue to look towards the FOMC meeting to come later at 1800 GMT and Powell's presser at 1830 GMT for the next set of clues.
