Forex news for North American trade on January 29, 2019:
- Brady amendment passes in UK parliament
- Spelman amendment passes in UK parliament
- Cooper amendment fails in UK parliament in 321-298 vote
- EU spokesman: Withdrawal deal and Irish backstop won't be renegotiated
- Conference Board US consumer confidence for January 120.2 vs 124.0 estimate
- S&P/Case Shiller HPI for November 0.3% vs 0.4% est
- China to present roadmap for reforms to the US on Wed-Thurs
- Iran still abiding by nuclear deal, CIA director says
- Dallas Fed services index for Jan. -4.8 vs -5.0 last month
- German govt sees German unemployment rate falling to 4.9% in 2019: Handelsblatt
Markets:
- Gold up $8.55 to $1312 -- highest since June
- S&P 500 down 4 points to 2640
- US 10-year yields down 3.6 bps to 2.71%
- WTI crude up $1.13 to $53.30
- EUR leads, GBP lags
All the focus was on the pound today and that was the only real market mover in North American trade. It was quiet in the leadup to the vote with cable bouncing around 1.3141 following some sales into the fix.
The heavy selling came after the Grieves and Cooper amendments failed. The market was hoping for a bit more safety against a no-deal Brexit. The pain was mitigated by the later votes but the EU was quick to shoot down any negotiations. Overall it unfolded generally as expected so the selling in GBP is a surprise.
EUR/USD hit the low of the day into the London fix but recouped the decline afterwards in a rebound to 1.1430.
USD/CAD defied a rise in oil prices as it rose to 1.3280 but wasn't able to break yesterday's high before sinking back to 1.3270 late. It was part of a broader slump in commodity currencies despite rising commodities. AUD/USD sagged late down to 0.7155 after an earlier dip in Asian trading.
USD/JPY ws generally softer. It rose to 109.55 early but sagged into the London fix and stayed mostly lower for a finish near 109.30 but it was generally subdued which is no surprise ahead of the Fed.
