North American Summary and Highlights 25 Mar
Overview - In a quiet day the USD ended mostly weaker, though USD/JPY was an exception to this.
North American session
The USD saw some early losses, which were largely sustained, but a dip in USD/JPY to 151.15 was more than fully reversed with an advance to 151.50 as UST yields increased. EUR/USD gains to 1.0840 and GBP/USD gains to 1.2650 were mostly sustained while AUD and CAD remained marginally weaker.
There was no significant data but there was some mixed Fed talk. Bostic was the most hawkish, seeing only one 25bps easing this year, though the dovish Goolsbee saw three. Cook was balanced, warning against the risk of easing too soon and too late, while calling for a careful policy approach.
European morning session
A quiet European morning session saw little change in EUR/USD or USD/JPY. GBP made modest gains, with EUR/GBP dropping 10 pips to 0.8570, while EUR/SEK was firmer, rising three figures to 11.45. The AUD and CAD also made some small gains against the USD of around 0.1%.
There was no data of any note, and little other news. The weakness of the SEK may relate to the Riksbank meeting this week, which many expect to see a more dovish turn.