Forex news for North American trading on July 15, 2021:
- US weekly initial jobless claims 360K vs 360K expected
- US July Philly Fed 21.9 vs 28.0 expected
- US July Empire Fed manufacturing index 43.0 vs 18.0 expected
- Fed's Bullard: It's time to end these emergency measures
- Fed's Evans says he expects first rate hike in early 2024
- Gundlach: Yields are this low due to liquidity
- Macklem: We will use tools if temporary inflation causes permanent problems
- Fed's Evans: Expects core PCE to be at 3% at end of this year
- Schumer sets deadline of next Wed for Dems to move forward with $3.5T plan
- Fed's Powell: We don't know where labor force participation will settle
- US June industrial production +0.4% m/m vs +0.6% exp
- Canada home sales -8.4% m/m in June
- ADP June Canada employment -294.2K vs +101.6K prior
- US June import price index +1.0% m/m vs +1.2% expected
Markets:
- Gold flat at $1827
- WTI crude oil down $1.53 to $71.60
- US 10-year yields 6 bps to 1.295%
- S&P 500 down 14 points to 4347
- JPY leads, AUD lags
The US dollar bid returned on Thursday without any real catalyst. Early trading was subdued but as the session wore on, falling Treasury yields led to more and more risk aversion and a persistent bid in the yen and dollar.
Commodity currencies and GBP (which are increasingly trading in tandem) struggled even after the strong Australian employment report and hawkish BOE comments.
The Canadian dollar fell to a three month low. It fell in line with other commodity currencies but certainly wasn't helped by pressure on oil.