North American Summary and Highlights 23 July
Overview - While equities were quiet there was a risk negative tone to FX trading, with the JPY stronger and the commodity currencies weaker.
North American session
It was a quiet session with little movement in FX or equities. There was little reaction to a weaker than expected 5.2% decline in June US existing home sales, though UST yields were slightly lower.
USD/JPY lost a little more ground to 155.65 while EUR/USD stabilized near 1.0850, seeing EUR/JPY fall below 169. The commodity currencies lost some ground, AUD/USD falling to .6615 and USD/CAD rising to 1.3775.
European morning session
There was a risk negative bias to FX trading through the European morning, with the JPY making general gains and the riskier currencies also falling against the USD. EUR/JPY fell a big figure to 169.50, while EUR/USD lost 20 pips to 1.0870 and USD/JPY fell to a low of 155.82 before bouncing slightly. AUD/USD also lost around 10 pips to 0.6625, extending overnight declines, but USD/CAD was little changed. GBP lost a little against the USD but EUR/GBP fell 10 pips to 0.8415.
There wasn’t much in the way of news, with no European data of any note. The risk negative tone in currencies was not mirrored in equities, with most of the developed market indices edging higher through the morning.