Forex news for US trading on March 22, 2016
- Markit US manufacturing PMI March prelim 51.4 vs 51.9 exp
- Oil - American Petroleum Institute (API) data +8796K vs +3250K expected
- Canadian govt forecasts $29.4B deficit
- Fed's Evans: He sees more downside than upside risks in forecast
- Fed's Evans: Sees 2016 US growth of 2.0-2.5%
- Iraq to accept oil freeze proposal - spokesman
- Islamic State claims responsibility for Brussels attacks
- Schaeuble: Governments must 'do more' to relieve ECB
- Cleveland Fed study points to lower natural Fed funds rate
- Richmond Fed March US manufacturing index +22 vs 0 expected
- Hungarian central bank surprises with rate cut
- January 2016 US FHFA house price index 0.5% vs 0.5% exp m/m
- Philly Fed non-manufacturing index rises to 13.9 in March vs 3.6 in Feb
Markets
- WTI crude oil down 7-cents at $41.45
- Gold up $1.40 to $1248
- US 10-year yields up 2.5 bps to 1.94%
- S&P 500 down 2 points to 2050
- AUD leads, GBP lags
Fear was high as US traders arrived and learned about the tragic attacks in Belgium but market worries slowly disappeared. That's what underpinned a steady USD/JPY rise to 112.50 from 111.60.
Cable was soft as the attacks stoked speculation that anti-immigration forces will be galvanized by fresh terrorism and vote to leave the EU. GBP/USD started at 1.4275 and fell to 1.1490 in the culmination of a more than 150 pip decline on the day.
The fall in GBP in New York trading was in contrast to EUR, which stabilized after a quick selloff following the headlines. It chopped in a roughly 20 pip range on either side of 1.1220.
The Canadian dollar was in focus ahead of the budget but it was a broadly positive risk tone that lifted it and hurt USD/CAD. The pair tested 1.31 but sank down to 1.3225. There was some minor buying on the budget but it was a largely negligible move.
AUD benefitted from the upbeat tone. Stevens' jawboning earlier is already a distant memory as the pair rose as high as 0.7640, nearly a full cent from the session lows. last at 0.7620.
