North American Summary and Highlights 5 August
Overview - It was another quiet day with the USD slightly softer, notably versus the CAD.
North American session
Trading remained subdued with a slight negative bias for the USD. July US ADP employment data was weaker than expected, up by 44k, while July’s ISM services index at 54.1 was almost unchanged from June’s 54.0.
USD/JPY traded in a 40 tick range around 151.60, while EUR/USD edged up to near 1.1550 from 1.1540. EUR/GBP rose to .8580 from .8570 but EUR/CHF slipped to .9325 from .9340. USD/CAD was softer near 1.4010 from 1.4060 while AUD/USD saw marginal gains to .7060 from .7050.
European session
A very flat morning indeed in FX, extending Asia’s wait and see flatlining to see how the Iran talks play out. Brent though hasn’t been able to hold the move below $80, up around $1 ½ on ongoing uncertainty and as Houthis say they launched a missile at a Saudi tanker in the Red Sea, provocative and keeping the environment complicated and tense. Saudis though reportedly looking to deal with through diplomacy.
The only real mover today remains the kiwi, off around ½ % after the unemployment rate rose to 5.6% vs mkt 5.4%, a post Sep15 high. The increase was driven by the participation rate, with employment up 0.5%, above expectations, which adds some context, but it still knocked the NZD back.