North American Summary and Highlights 6 Feb
Overview - The USD was mostly weaker as risk appetite recovered.
European and North American sessions
A rebound in risk appetite saw the USD slipping, particularly versus the riskier currencies. GBP/USD extending a recovery from near 1.35 above 1.36 while AUD/USD rallied above .70 from near .69, both with no significant correction. USD/CAD fell as low as 1.3625 from 1.3725 but did correct above 1.3650. January Canadian employment was weaker than expected with a 24.8k fall but with unemployment falling to 6.5% from 6.8%, and had little market impact.
EUR/USD gains stalled near 1.18 in the European morning but picked up to 1.1820 in North America. EUR/GBP slipped to .8680 from .87. USD/JPY moved back above 157 in the European morning but stabilized in North America. EUR/JPY saw steady gains to 185.70, over a big figure above the Asian low. US data was on the firm side, with the preliminary February Michigan CSI at 57.3 from 56.4 and December consumer credit well above expectations with a rise of $24bn.