Forex news from the European morning session 22 April 2015
News:
- Greece says it aims to have EUR 2.5bln buffer from transfer of state entities cash reserves
- German govt raises its 2015 GDP forecast to+1.8% vs +1.5% prev
- BOJ expected to keep monetary policy on hold at upcoming meeting
- Irish fin min says there has been some progress on Greece
- SNB's Danthine says EURCHF 1.20 cap was a temporary measure
- EU Commission charges Gazprom with abusing its dominant position
- UK's Tesco posts a record £6.4bln annual loss
- Option expiries 10am NY cut today 22 April
Data:
- IG Index website closed for business at the moment
- BOE MPC minutes votes 9-0 to keep rates unchanged
- Italy industrial orders Feb SA mm +0.8% vs -3.7% prev
- Italian retail sales drop in Feb
- April 2015 Swiss ZEW investor sentiment -23.2 vs -37.9 prior
- Nikkei 225 closes up +1.13% at 20,133.90
A busy morning that's seen the USD generally sold but it's not had the same effect across the board
Stand out performer has been the pound with more hawkish than expected MPC Minutes helping GBPUSD recover from an early dip to 1.4940. High post so far has been 1.5049 with good offers between 1.5050-80 capping the move so far.. Overall the pound has seen some decent gains notably EURGBP (0.7205 to 0.7160 as I type and GBPJPY up to 179.86 from 178.80
EURUSD looked ok early doors with a move on 1.0800 but ran out of steam as Greek concerns continue and we've seen a move back to 1.0770 as EURGBP falls and EURJPY failed to breach 129.00 and fall to 128.66
USDJPY had enjoyed Asian support with a firmer Nikkei but then capped out only to find demand into 119.40 as yen pairs rallied but then found offers again
USDCAD had a wander down to 1.2210 but has since found a few buyers back to 1.2235 while AUDUSD continued its CPI-led rally to post 0.7807 before falling back and NZDUSD has also enjoyed a good ride again to 0.7739
Not a lot on the data horizon apart from US existing home sales but there's enough being thrown around at the moment to keep things ticking over
