North American Summary and Highlights 6 August

North American session

Equities saw a significant bounce which lifted the commodity currencies, AUD/USD to .6530 from .6470 while USD/CAD fell to 1.3770 from 1.3840. USD/JY rose to near 145 from near 144. EUR/USD saw only modest gains to 1.0930 after finding support above 1.09. Neither EUR/GBP nor EUR/CHF saw much movement in North America, though the former sustained European gains and the latter sustained European losses. 

There was not much in the way of data. June’s US trade deficit narrowed to $73.1bn from $75.0bn but was slightly wider than expected. Canada recorded an unexpected June trade surplus of C$0.64bn, versus a C$1.61bn deficit in May. Kamala Harris chose Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate, who is seen as a little to the left than most of the names on her shortlist. 

European morning session

The JPY and USD gained ground through the European morning, reversing some of the recovery seen in the riskier currencies in Asia, as equities slipped back after Asian gains. USD/JPY fell back below 145 after opening near 146, while EUR/USD fell to 1.0910 from an open near 1.0950. GBP was even weaker, with EUR/GBP up 15 pips to 0.8590, while AUD/USD fell back 30 pips to 0.6480. EUR/CHF slipped from 0.9380 to 0.9320. 

There was little news of note. German factory orders were stronger than expected in June, rising 3.9% m/m, but the underlying trend is still weak. Swiss and Eurozone retail sales were both weaker than expected in June, as were French non-farm payrolls.