North American Summary and Highlights 26 Sep
Overview - The USD saw a modest correction from Thursday’s gains as US data eased inflationary worries somewhat.
North American session
The USD softened with US data, though without any major shocks, easing inflation worries somewhat. While August personal income with a rise of 0.4% and personal spending at 0.6% were above expectations core PCE prices were in line at a moderate 0.2%. The Final September Michigan CSI was revised marginally lower to 55.1 from 55.4 with the 5-10 year inflation expectation at 3.7% from 3.9%.
USD/JPY slipped to 149.50 after peaking just below 150 while EUR/USD nudged above 1.07 from 1.1660. GBP/USD outperformed, moving above 1.34 from 1.3350 as EUR/GBP slipped to .8730 from .8740. AUD/USD rose to .6550 from .6525 but USD/CAD saw only marginal losses to 1.3940 as AUD/CAD rose to .9125 from .91, despite a stronger than expected 0.2% increase in July Canadian GDP.
European morning session
The commodity currencies weakened moderately through the European morning session, with AUD/USD falling 15 pips to 0.6525, USD/CAD rising 10 pips to 1.3950, and EUR/NOK up 2 figures to 11.72. Otherwise, there was little net movement, although USD/JPY edged a little higher mid-session before dropping back.
Commodity currency weakness may have reflected the weaker oil price, and may also be a consequence of the new tariffs announced by Trump overnight, which have weighed on risk appetite. But the session was generally quiet with no data of significance.