USD gained ground amid rising UST yields and sustained Delta risks.
Asia Session
The USD returned to its uptrend in the Asian session on Wednesday, and the rising UST yields suggest there is unlikely to be a dovish surprise from the Jackson Hole this week. Asian stocks lost steam after two days of advances.
EUR/USD lost ground to drop back below 1.1740 from overnight highs of 1.1765. USD/JPY rose to 109.87 from overnight lows of 109.41, although eased back to 109.80 at last look.
Commodity currencies declined as the spread of the delta coronavirus variant clouded global growth outlook. Australia reported a new high for daily cases in NSW and Japan is likely to expand its state of emergency to eight additional prefectures. AUD/USD seen back closer to 0.7240 after touching 0.7271 in the NY session. NZD/USD at 0.6940 from 0.6966.
Australia reported a substantial miss on construction work in Q2 which will weigh on Q2 GDP growth due next week (Sept 1).
Chinese state media reported earlier that Ningbo, world's third-largest container port, to reopen closed terminal today. That should help restore supply chains and check global inflationary pressures, and is mildly positive for AUD.
U.S. Session
The USD continued to soften through the US session on Tuesday. EUR/USD pressed above 1.1750, USD/CAD below 1.26 and AUD/USD above 0.7250 to the lowest USD levels for a week, helped by strength in commodities, while equity markets were fairly steady. USD/JPY dipped early in the session, but recovered by the equity market open and only fell modestly thereafter.
US data may have helped the USD decline with the Richmond Fed manufacturing index falling sharply in August to its lowest since June 2020, though the services index fell only modestly. US new home sales were slightly on the high side of expectations at 708k in July.
Data
01:30 GMT - AU: Construction Work Done (2Q) 0.8%A (Mkt: 2.8% Prev: 2.4%)
Still to Come
05:00 GMT - JP: Leading indicator (Jun F) (Prev: 104.1)
08:00 GMT - DE: IFO Current Conditions (Aug) (Mkt: 100.8 Prev: 100.4)
08:00 GMT - DE: IFO Business Climate (Aug) (Mkt: 100.4 Prev: 100.8)
08:00 GMT - DE: IFO Expectations (Aug) (Mkt: 100 Prev: 101.2)
12:30 GMT - US: Durable Goods Orders (Jul P) 4cast: -1.5% (Mkt: -0.3% Prev: 0.9%)
12:30 GMT - US: Durables Ex Transportation (Jul P) 4cast: 0.5% (Mkt: 0.5% Prev: 0.5%)
14:30 GMT - US: DOE U.S. crude oil inventory (Aug 20) (Mkt: -2000K Prev: -3233K)
Events
No Significant Events