Forex news for North American trade on Feb 17, 2020:
- WHO: It's too early to tell if number of coronavirus cases are truly declining
- Possible delay of China's 'two sessions' may indicate lower GDP target - report
- Japan says it has 520 coronavirus patients; most from cruise ship
- Jan New Zealand REINZ house sales +3.2% vs +12.3% prior
- UK signals scrapping EU rules is red line for trade deal
- The latest on coronavirus in the US: 15 cases with tests pending
- Canada December international securities transactions -$9.57B vs -$1.75B prior
Markets:
- WTI crude up 28-cents to $52.33
- CAD leads, GBP lags
It was a holiday in the US and Canada so trading was thinned and it showed with minimal news and volatility.
The pound was soft as the market wrestles with what's coming next from the UK government. Hopes for additional spending have ebbed and the pound fell 47 pips to 1.3000; and it was the only significant mover on the day.
The general tone was a bit more positive with European equity markets higher and USD/JPY tracking to 109.93 from 109.70 in early Asian trade. The commodity currencies also maintained a small bid with ACD particularly solid in spite of the holiday.
Expect a bit more life in the market tomorrow with the US set to report on the Empire Fed and NAHB housing market index.
