Europe Summary and Highlights 19 August

European morning session

A quiet European morning saw EUR/USD gain a modest 20 pips to 1.1680, while USD/JPY and USD/CAD both edged slightly higher, as did both GBP/USD and EUR/GBP. EUR/SEK fell 3 figures to 11.13.

There was little news of note. Eurozone current account data showed a slightly larger than expected 35.8bn surplus in June, but the data was close to consensus and had no appreciable impact. EUR gains were supported by a rise in European equity indices, while yields were generally a little lower across the board.

Asia session

Everyone is calling for peace as Trump/EU meets, including Japan PM Ishiba, calling for ceasefire and fair peace and weighs role in Ukraine security. But in reality, Japan is unlikely to be participating in any security protocol regarding Ukraine, given their legislation.  USD/JPY is trading 0.08% lower at 147.74 with JGB yields gaining strongly.

Headline on Tuesday are rather empty as all focus on Trump/EU meeting and any potential outcome. Trump had another phone call with Putin but there has been no update yet. U.S. major equity indexes and Nikkei are in the red while regional equities in China and Hong Kong are more upbeat. AUD/USD is trading 0.01% lower at 0.6491, NZD/USD is trading 0.06% higher at 0.5926 while USD/CAD rise 0.03%. Else, EUR/USD and GBP/USD is up 0.03%.