Forex news for US trading on January 22, 2018:
- Senate Democratic leader Schumer confirms deal on shutdown
- IMF raises 2018 global growth forecast to 3.9% from 3.7%
- Trump has discussed replacing chief of staff John Kelly - report
- Trump is frustrated with Wilbur Ross on slow pace of trade progress - report
- Chicago Fed national activity index 0.27 vs 0.22 expected
- Canada Nov wholesale trade sales +0.7% vs +1.2% expected
- SNB's Jordan says CHF remains highly valued
Markets
- S&P 500 up 19 points to record 2829
- Gold up $2 to $1334
- US 10-year yields flat at 2.655%
- WTI crude up 12-cents to $63.49
- Pound leads, yen lags
The formalities of re-opening the US government will take place in the hours ahead but the deal is already confirmed. USD/JPY was at 110.80 before the reports of a deal started to circulate and as more confirmation came, the pair rose to 111.22 but there was a distinct lack of follow through despite another rip in the stock market and the pair fell back to 110.95.
The big mover on the day was the pound. Cable was at 1.3900 as US traders arrived. A small bid built from there and even the bounce in the US dollar on the government shutdown could barely stall the advance. Stops were run above last week's high of 1.3945 and it's been a steady climb to 1.3990 since. Look for sellers at the figure.
EUR/USD was chopping. It spent most of the day between 1.2240/60 then made a quick move close to 1.2220 after the London fix but found bids there and bounced back to 1.2260 last.
Commodity currencies all hit session highs around the London fix with AUD/USD up to 0.8025 before falling back to 0.8000. Overall, the moves in the commodity FX space were small.
