Forex news for New York trade on June 6, 2018:
- US April trade deficit $46.2 billion vs $49.0 billion expected
- US 1Q final Nonfarm productivity 0.4% vs 0.6% estimate
- Canada April international merchandise trade $-1.90B vs $-3.40B expected
- Lopez-Obrador says he would leave the central bank mandate alone
- Kudlow: Mnuchin didn't suggest extending exemption for Canada
- Global foreign direct investment fell 23% in 2017 - UN
- New Zealand QV house prices +6.9% y/y vs +7.6% prior
- Goldman Sachs raises GDP tracker to 3.8% from 3.7%. Barclay's at 3.5% from 3.4%
- BOE's McCafferty: Slower investment due to Brexit talks
- Theresa May in 'serious row' with David Davis - report
- Canada May Ivey PMI 62.5 vs 71.5 prior
Markets:
- Gold up $1 to $1296
- S&P 500 up 18 points 2772
- US 10-year yield up 4 bps to 2.97%
- WTI crude down 48-cents to $65.04
- AUD leads, JPY lags
The US dollar sputtered early in New York trade despite an upbeat trade number but later in the day, the dollar made a comeback.
Part of the story was a reversal in stock market sentiment. The S&P 500 was in negative territory for part of the day before finishing strong with a 23 point gain to 2772 -- a 0.8% climb.
EUR?USD was locked in a thigh range around 1.1770. A brief rally to 1.1796 was beaten back with 1.1760 holding as support.
USD/JPY was at 110.20 at the start of North American trade and then sank down to 109.88 before rebounding to finish at a session high of 110.25 -- the best since May 22.
Cable was pulled lower in part due to talk of turmoil in Brexit negotiations. David Davis and Theresa May are in a spat about the Irish border and that led to selling down to 1.3400 from 1.3440 at the highs.
USD/CAD was the big mover as NAFTA/trade headlines swung the pair. Overnight reports that Mnuchin was lobbying for removing tariffs helped a decline to 1.2859 from 1.2970 at the start of the day but later, talk of more tariffs began to circulate and oil was hit by a bearish US inventory report. It combined to send USD/CAD all the way back up to 1.2953.
I'm headed off for a couple weeks of vacation (fishing, mostly). Can't wait to see how it all shakes down.
