North American Summary and Highlights 11 August
Overview - The USD was quiet awaiting Wednesday’s US CPI release.
North American session
In a fairly directionless session then USD was little changed. Oil stabilized after picking up in Europe with Pakistan expressing some optimism on Middle East peace talks. A 1.7% fall in July US existing home sales to 4.06m was close to consensus. USD/JPY was stable near 159.25, as was EUR/USD near 1.1540. EUR/GBP also lacked direction but EUR/CHF was marginally firmer. USD/CAD slipped to 1.3920 from 1.3930 while AUD/USD was stable near .7060.
European session
A quiet European morning, with little action, outside of oil where prices continue to leak out higher. The market rightly grows more uneasy about the lack of deal progress and the rhetorical and political bashing of heads, made clear by Trump’s latest comments. There’s still not a clean path through the current situation to a US exit ramp. Brent front month +$2 to around $90~. Little FX action other than token SEK a touch weaker, NOK a toucher firmer.