North American Summary and Highlights 13 March
Overview - It was a subdued session, though equity weakness weighed on USD/JPY and lifted USD/CAD.
North American session
US PPI came in significantly weaker than expected at unchanged overall and -0.1% ex food and energy, but the market reaction was very brief. Initial claims fell to 220k from 222k.
With Trump threatening a 200% tariff on EU wine, EUR/USD saw an early dip to a low of 1.0823 but this was reversed, EUR/USD returning to a narrow range above 1.0850. GBP/USD and AUD/USD also saw modest dips reversed. Tariff worries did see equities under pressure which saw USD/CAD rise to 1.4450 and USD/JPY fall below 147.50 before modest late corrections. AUD/CAD gains stalled ahead of 0.91.
European morning session
USD/JPY gained 40 pips to 148.20 and USD/CAD lost 30 pips to 1.4370, while EUR/SEK rose 7 figures to 11.05. None of these moves had any obvious fundamental triggers, and there was no data of any real significance. Swedish final February CPI was unrevised from the flash estimate at 1.3% y/y, and Eurozone industrial production was stronger than expected at 0.8% m/m in January, but neither had any noticeable market impact, with the rise in EUR/SEK coming well after the release of the CPI data. JPY weakness may reflect the modest rise seen in European equities through the session.