North American Summary and Highlights 16 May
Overview - The USD was generally firmer, though most clearly so versus the JPY and CHF.
North American session
The USD advanced early in the session, but corrected against most currencies leaving the USD little changed against most pairs, EUR/USD returning to 1.0870. USD/JPY however briefly reached 155.50, with only a modest subsequent correction to 155.30, leaving it firmer on the session. CHF was also weaker, EUR/CHF rallying from lows below .98 to .9840 and USD/CHF up from .90 to .9050.
US data was generally close to expectations, and consistent with some slowing in the economy, though UST yields moved higher. Initial claims corrected lower by 10k to 222k, April housing starts rose 5.7% after a 16.8% March decline but permits saw a 3.0% decline to follow a fall of 5.0%. May’s Philly Fed manufacturing index slipped to 4.5 from 15.5 while April industrial production was unchanged.
European morning session
The USD was generally firmer through the European morning, with EUR/USD losing around 15 pips to 1.0870 but USD/JPY seeing the biggest move, rising around 80 pips to 154.65. Other currencies moved broadly in line with the EUR.
There was little news, with the only significant data being the Norwegian Q1 GDP data, which showed the expected 0.2% gains. EUR/NOK and EUR/SEK were both marginally higher.