North American Summary and Highlights 8 Oct
Overview - The USD was generally firmer, again led by USD/JPY, but came off its highs after the FOMC minutes.
North American session
The USD saw some early slippage but rebounded to reach fresh highs overall ahead of the FOMC minutes, with EUR/USD touching 1.16, though USD/JPY was unable to move above 153 after touching the figure early on. FOMC minutes contained no major shocks and limited signs of hawkish doubts over easing saw the USD edge a little lower, EUR/USD recovering to 1.1625 and USD/JPY slipping to 152.75.
USD/CHF advanced to .8020 from .80 while GBP/USD ended in mid-range near 1.34. AUD/USD was however firmer at .9190 from .9160 but USD/CAD only marginally weaker near 1.3960.
European morning session
USD/JPY continued to rise through the European morning, gaining 55 pips to 152.95, with the USD otherwise not much changed, although GBP, SEK and CAD were all a little stronger, gaining 0.1-0.2%.
There was no real news to weaken the JPY through the session, with the momentum continuing from the election of Takaichi at the weekend. There was German industrial production data, which came in much weaker than expected at -4.3% m/m, but the weakness was concentrated in the car sector and ascribed to seasonal shutdowns. Swedish CPI was on the soft side of expectations, but didn’t prevent modest SEK gains. Bond yields were generally lower in Europe, and equities stronger.