North American Summary and Highlights 29 July
Overview - The USD saw modest gains on a slow news day. GBP led the USD advance in the European morning but recovered in North America.
North American session
The USD initially extended gains before stabilizing in a session with little news. EUR/USD found support near 1.08 and recovered to 1.0825 while USD/JPY stabilized near 154 after seeing highs marginally above. GBP/USD recovered more significantly from European losses, rising to 1.2865 after bottoming near 1.28, seeing EUR/GBP ending lower on the day near .8415 after peaking near .8460. USD/CAD advanced to 1.3850 but AUD/USD remained near .6550.
European morning session
The USD made ground across the board through the European morning, with GBP/USD seeing the largest decline, falling around 50 pips to 1.2830, while EUR/USD lost 25 pips to 1.0835. Gains against the JPY were slightly smaller, USD/JPY rising around 15 pips to 153.70, while USD/CAD gained just 5 pips to 1.3830. AUD/USD was little changed at 0.6550. The USD was also little changed against the scandis, with both the NOK and SEK making ground against the EUR.
The SEK initially fell back a little after weaker than expected Swedish GDP data, which fell 0.8% in Q2, following the 0.7% Q1 gain, but this move was more than reversed by the end of the session. UK money data was on the strong side of expectations, with M4 up 0.5% m/m, and both mortgage lending and consumer credit stronger than expected.