North American Summary and Highlights 20 February
Overview - In a day with limited significant news, the USD was generally softer, particularly in North America.
North American session
The USD drifted lower through the North American session with EUR/USD leading the way with a rise to 1.05, though gains in EUR/GBP were modest. AUD/USD reached 0.64 while USD/CAD fell to 1.4175. USD/JPY slipped as low as 149.40 before correcting.
There was no major story behind the move. US data had little impact, with initial claims rising to a still low 219k from 214k and February’s Philly Fed manufacturing survey slipping to a still healthy 18.1 from 44.3. Fed talk was mixed, with Bostic on the dovish side but Musalem more hawkish.
European morning session
The USD was slightly weaker against the riskier currencies in a quiet European morning session. EUR/USD gained around 10 pips to 1.0440 and there were similar USD losses against most other currencies, but USD/JPY was unchanged at 150.10.
There wasn’t any news of real note. German PPI data early in the session was weaker than expected, falling 0.1% m/m in January, but there was no other data.