Forex news for North American trade on January 16, 2019:
- Theresa May wins vote of confidence from Parliament 325-306
- Beige Book: 'Outlooks generally remained positive'
- ECB Villeroy: Policy normalization must be gradual
- SNB's Jordan: Economic uncertainties have increased in recent months
- EIA US weekly oil inventories -2683K vs -2500K expected
- US January NAHB housing market index 58 vs 56 expected
- US prosecutors pursue criminal case against Huawei - report
- New Zealand December REINZ house sales -12.9% y/y vs +2.6% prior
- Senator Grassley says believes Trump 'inclined' to do auto tariffs
- Theresa May: General election now is worst thing we could do
- US December import price index -1.0% vs -1.3% m/m expected
- European Commission says Brexit withdrawal agreement is not open for renegotiation
Markets:
- S&P 500 up 6 points to 2616
- WTI crude oil up 26-cents to $52.37
- Gold up $4 to $1293
- US 10-year yields up 1.2 bps to 2.72%
- GBP leads, NZD lags
All eyes were on the confidence vote in UK parliament but it turned into a bit of a dud both in terms of drama and market moves. There was no surprise stab in the back for May even after much of her party abandoned her in the Brexit vote a day ago. Cable chopped back and forth in the 1.2850-1.2900 range a half-dozen times throughout the day.
The bigger move was USD/JPY and the yen crosses in general. They were bounced around by the ebb and flow of broader sentiment but late in the day USD/JPY finally took out stops above 108.90 in a quick move to 109.20 but that was quickly capped by Hauwei headlines, which are a fresh reminder of the trade war.
EUR/USD fell to a daily low of 1.1378 early in North American trade but couldn't force its way below 1.1375 and rebounded to 1.1410 before finishing just below the figure.
NZD/USD was sold heavily in Asia and real estate numbers in North American trade were a reminder of the trouble. The kiwi, however, was mostly on the rebound in New York trade in a bounce to 0.6780.
USD/CAD continues to trade tightly with crude but the pair finished the day basically unchanged after several tries to break below 1.3235 could break through.
