Forex news for US trading on May 2, 2016:
- April ISM manufacturing index 50.8 vs 51.4 expected
- ECB calls out United States for economic data leaks
- ECB's Draghi: Global low rates is a symptom of challenges in the world economy
- BOJ's Kuroda repeats he won't hesitate on action to hit 2% inflation target
- March 2016 US construction spending 0.3% vs 0.5% exp m/m
- ECB QE count: Bought €17.550bn vs €19.908bn prior
- April 2016 US Markit manufacturing PMI final 50.8 vs 50.8 exp
- RBC Canadian manufacturing PMI 52.2 vs 51.5 expected
- Fed senior loan officer survey saw weaker Q1 credit demand
- RBA preview: What's priced in for Australia's central bank and what to expect
- ECB's Lautenschlaeger: Sharing of fiscal risks could hurt govt discipline
- SNB's Jordan: Swiss franc remains significantly overvalued
- US Q2 GDPNow forecast unchanged at +1.8%
Markets:
- S&P 500 up 15 points to 2079
- WTI crude down $1.03 to $44.89
- Gold down $2 to $1290.
- US 10-year yields up 3 bps to 1.86%
- AUD leads, USD dollar lags
The beginning of the month was probably a bigger factor than the economic data but EUR/USD jumped after the softer ISM manufacturing report. it rose to a session high of 1.1534 from 1.1485 after the release. It's the first break above 1.1500 since August.
After a tumultuous end to last week, USD/JPY generally took the day off. The pair edged up 25 pips to a session high of 106.81 in early trading but then slipped back down to 108.40. With Japan on holiday until Friday, the drama might have to wait.
Cable was the start early. The pair caught a quick bid early and ran up to 1.4695 from 1.4615 before offers at the big figure blocked the advance. GBP/USD chopped down to 1.4642 and back up again a few times before finishing near 1.4670.
USD/CAD was surprisingly quiet in a 1.2525 to 1.2550 range despite a 2.25% drop in oil prices. Crude turned higher early but then sank lower, partly because of a Genscape report showing an 800K barrel build at Cushing.
The Australian dollar is the focus later with a 50/50 RBA decision on the way. The pair had some momentum at the outset and hit 0.7650 but sellers came afterwards and sent it back to 0.7615. Another wave of buyers then took it to a session high of 0.7660. Climbs in industrial metals prices may have helped.
