North American Summary and Highlights 3 July
Overview - The USD slipped after weaker labor market and ISM services data, but finished off its lows.
North American session
Slightly softer than expected labor market data, a 150k rise in June’s ADP estimate for private sector employment, and a 4k rise in initial claims to 238k, started a gradual USD decline, which accelerated on a sharply weaker than expected ISM services index of 48.8 from 53.8.
In the afternoon the USD drifted back to near levels seen before the release of ISM services data, but remained lower on the session. FOMC minutes, which saw the economy as cooling but saw little discussion of easing had little impact.
EUR/USD saw a brief move above 1.08 but ended near 1.0785. Most pairs saw similar moves, though USD/JPY, which saw a brief move below 161, saw a stronger recovery, ending near 161.70.
European morning session
EUR/USD gained 20 pips to 1.0760 in the European morning, with the USD generally weaker against the European currencies, with GBP, CHF and the Scandis broadly matching EUR gains. The USD was little changed against the JPY, AUD and CAD.
Datawise there was a small upward revision in the Eurozone composite PMI index for June, and a larger upward revision in the UK index for June, although both were down from May. The Swedish services PMI index showed a rise from the May level to its highest since March.