North American Summary and Highlights 27 August
Overview - After a quiet European morning the USD saw some slippage in North America.
North American session
The USD was generally weaker in North America. USD/JPY drifted steadily lower from around 144.80 to touch marginally below 144. EUR/USD saw early weakness but found support at 1.1150 before bouncing in the afternoon to 1.1185. EUR/GBP remained weaker as GBP/USD rose to 1.3260 while EUR/CHF losses extended to .9410 as USD/CHF fell to .8415. USD/CAD slipped to 1.3450 while AUD/USD gains stalled just ahead of .68.
US consumer confidence rose to 103.3 from 101.9 but detail showed softer views on the labor market and inflation expectations, helping to maintain pressure on the USD. Fed minutes on the Discount Rate showed the Chicago and more significantly New York Feds called for a cut in July.
European morning session
A fairly quiet European session saw modest gains for GBP and CHF, but not much net movement in EUR/USD or USD/JPY. EUR/GBP lost around 20 pips to 0.8445, and EUR/CHF fell 15 pips to 0.9450. USD/CAD was also a little softer, dropping to 1.3470.
Very little of note newswise, with the Q2 German GDP data unrevised at -0.1% q/q.