North American Summary and Highlights 22 July
Overview - In mostly quiet trade the JPY made early gains which were partially corrected later in the day.
North American session
With little fresh news it was a quiet session. USD/JPY saw a modest recovery from European lows to trade marginally above 157. AUD and CAD lost ground early on which was mostly sustained in the case of AUD/USD which remained below .6650 but largely reversed in the case of USD/CAD, which settled near 1.3750. EUR/USD held a narrow range near 1.0885. EUR/GBP ended little changed but EUR/CHF advanced to a high of .8690. Equities were firmer, and UST yields saw modest gains.
European morning session
The JPY made gains in late Asia/early European trading, USD/JPY dropping a figure to 156.30 before making a modest recovery through the European morning. The AUD also saw a dip in late Asia, but held around 0.6660 through the European morning, while European currencies were little changed against the USD.
There was no data of note, but there were some comments from Toshimitsu Motegi, secretary general of the ruling LDP, who said the Bank of Japan should more clearly indicate its resolve to normalise monetary policy, including through steady interest rate hikes, and that excessive yen declines were negative for Japan's economy. The reports came in the Nikkei in mid-morning European time, and didn’t appear to trigger JPY losses, but knowledge of the statement may have been behind the JPY gains earlier in the session.