Forex news for US trading on May 1, 2017
- April ISM manufacturing index 54.8 vs 56.5 expected
- Markit US final manufacturing PMI 52.8 vs 52.8 expected
- US personal spending 0.0% vs. 0.2% estimate
- US March PCE core +1.6% vs +1.6% y/y expected
- Spicer: We're not ready to roll out new Glass-Steagall yet
- Atlanta Fed comes in with 1st Q2 estimate
- Trump puts higher gas tax on the table
- Malta calls snap election for June 3
- Conservatives 19 points ahead in latest poll
- Wilbur Ross says Mexican election timeline key for NAFTA renegotiation
- Canada April Markit manufacturing PMI 55.9 vs 55.5 prior
- Theresa May's team says dire assessment of Juncker meeting untrue
Markets:
- Gold down $11 to $1257
- WTI crude down 55-cents to $48.78
- S&P 500 up 6 points to 2390
- US 10-year yields up 4 bps to 2.32%
- NZD leads, GBP lags
It was a holiday in most of Europe so that put a damper on things but data and the usual musings from the President kept things lively.
The US dollar shrugged off softer personal spending because it was foreshadowed in the GDP report but weak ISM and construction numbers led to more of a shudder and USD/JPY sank down to 111.38 from 111.75. But later it completely reversed up to a session high of 111.93 in part due to talk of more borrowing and also due to the relentless march higher in tech stocks.
EUR/USD was in a narrower range. It tried 109.25 but couldn't quite get there and faded back to 1.0900.
Cable faced some minor selling pressure late in the day and edged down to 1.2885 from 1.2915. It was the usual ebb and flow.
AUD/USD was in a steady climb to 0.7540 from 0.7480 that started late in Asia and crept along through the London close. Late in the day the US dollar found some legs and it pared back to 0.7527.
USD/CAD finished at 1.3680 and is back within striking distance of 14-month highs. The culprit today was a drop in oil prices on talk of more Libyan production. Domestically, the manufacturing PMI from Markit hit a six-year high but was entirely ignored.
