North American Summary and Highlights 24 Sep
Overview - The USD was stronger across the board, though more due to a weak German IFO survey than strong US new home sales.
North American session
The USD gains in the European morning extended in North America, mostly before a sharply above consensus 20.5% rise in August new home sales to 800k was released. EUR/USD fell to 1.1735 from 1.1765 and USD/JPY advanced to 148.85 from 148.30. EUR/JPY rose to 174.70 from 174.50 but the EUR was weaker versus GBP and CHF, even with USD making gains against both. USD/CAD reached 1.39.
European morning session
The USD traded higher across the board through the European morning. EUR/USD dropped 35 pips to 1.1765, with most of the decline coming after the release of the September IFO survey. In contrast to the September PMI survey released on Tuesday, the IFO survey showed a significant dip to 87.7 in the business climate index, against a market expectation of a rise to 89.3, and contrasting with the strong rise in the composite German PMI data, although more in line with the weaker manufacturing PMI.
However, the USD was strong across the board, with USD/JPY rising 40 pips to 148.30, and GBP/USD dropping 30 pips to 1.3475, with the EUR seeing only very modest losses on the crosses.