North American Summary and Highlights 21 October

North American session

While there was little news UST yields moved higher and the USD made broad based gains. USD/JPY led the way, ring from near 150 to 150.80. EUR/USD slipped to 1.0815 from 1.0850, while GBP/USD fell below 1.30. CHF was relatively resilient leaving EUR/CHF weaker near .9365. USD/CAD gains stalled at 1.3850, seeing AUD/CAD weaker near .9210 as AUD/USD slipped below .6660 from near .67.  

European morning session 

JPY weakness was the main theme in the European morning, with USD/JPY gaining around 60 pips to 149.95. Otherwise, there was relatively little movement, although the USD did make some modest general gains of around 0.1% elsewhere. There were initial losses for the scandis against the EUR, with EUR/NOK rising around 3 figures in early trade, but these gains were more than fully reversed by the end of the session, with EUR/NOK finishing the session 3 figures lower at 11.84. EUR/CHF also edged lower, with USD/CHF little changed. 

There was no data of any real note, although German PPI fell 0.5% m/m in September. Yields generally edged higher, and the USD was perceived to be benefiting from the “Trump trade”, as Trump’s policies of extending tax cuts and raising tariffs are expected to lead to a less dovish Fed and a more negative growth outcome for the more open economies.