North American Summary and Highlights 8 August
Overview - Lower than expected US initial claims lifted the USD against the JPY and CHF, but gains in equites supported the riskier currencies.
North American session
US initial claims slipped to 233k from 250k, and while the 4-week average continues to increase the lower than expected data eased fears generated by Friday’s employment report and sent UST yields and equities higher.
USD/JPY moved above 147 from near 146 while USD/CHF rose to .8655 to .8560. EUR/USD slipped below 1.09 from 1.0930 on the data but recovered to around 1.0915, meaning that EUR/CHF advanced to .9450 from .9360.
Risk sensitive-currencies benefited from the equity bounce, with GBP/USD rising to near 1.2750 after dipping below 1.27 on the data, as EUR/GBP fell to .8665 from .8610. AUD/USD advanced to .6590 from .6550 and with USD/CAD remaining above European lows AUD/CAD rose to near .9050 from .90.
European morning session
A relatively quiet European morning saw the USD gain slightly against the EUR and GBP, and edge a little lower against the CHF in a risk negative session. The scandis were the weakest performers, with EUR/NOK rising nearly 1% to 11.88 and EUR/SEK up around 0.5% to 11.47. AUD and CAD both edged lower against the USD, while USD/JPY was net little changed.
There was little news of any note.