North American Summary and Highlights 30 Mar
Overview - Middle East worries persisted keeping the USD mostly bid, though USD/JPY saw some slippage.
European and North American sessions
Middle East worries persisted with oil gaining and Trump threatening aggressive action against Iran if no peace deal was reached, while maintaining optimism that one would be. However bond yields slipped, much of the decline coming before comments from Fed’s Powell that showed no urgency to tighten policy in response to the oil shock. Equities were resilient early on but eventually lost further ground.
USD/JPY moved steadily lower in Europe to see lows below 159.50 where support was found, while AUD/USD was fairly stable near .6850. Generally however the USD was stronger. USD/CAD rose to 1.3925 from 1.3850 while EUR/USD briefly saw lows below 1.1450 from 1.1525. EUR/GBP was firmer getting close to .87 as GBP/USD fell below 1.32 but EUR/CHF slipped back after briefly reaching .92.