European Summary and Highlights 17 July

The USD lost ground across the board in Europe in reaction to an interview between Donald Trump and Bloomberg where he complained about a strong USD hurting US competitiveness and a weak Yen and Yuan.  The main beneficiary has been the JPY, which has gained ground across the board given the scale of JPY shorts.  However, it has also made USD sentiment somewhat more defensive, as the previous view had been that a Trump presidency would likely be USD bullish – higher inflation and higher for longer rates.  With Vance also favouring trade action and a lower USD, traders are now less certain whether a Trump presidency is USD bullish or bearish. 

Elsewhere, UK June CPI was the main item on the calendar on Wednesday. Though the number was broadly as expected, service inflation did not fall and this has cooled August BOE rate bets and helped the pound on a cross rate basis.