North American Summary and Highlights 30 June
Overview - USD/JPY remained firm but the USD overall came off its highs.
North American session
The USD saw some slippage in North America, but found support neat Monday’s lows before seeing a modest recovery. US data was mixed, with May job openings unchanged after a strong rise in April exceeding expectations, while June consumer confidence fell short of expectations, up only because May was revised down with increased pessimism on employment. Fed’s Hammack made some hawkish comments, saying inflation meant rate hikes may need to be considered.
USD/JPY stabilized near the highs around 162.60. but EUR/USD bounced to 1.1420 from 1.14 and GBP/USD to 1.3260 from 1.3220. AUD/USD rose to .6920 from .6890 while USD/CAD fell to near 1.42 from 1.4240. April Canadian GDP exceeded expectations with a rise of 0.5%.
European session
Soft batch of Eurozone national/state inflation prints so far this morning, tending to support the contention that it may have peaked out already.
Italian HICP 3.1% y/y vs 3.2% expected. This follows German state that was generally softer than expected, suggesting a y/y deceleration of around 0.2pp in the national figure due shortly. French HICP earlier was also a clear downside miss at 2.0% vs 2.3% expected and 2.8% previously.
While bond supportive, DE2s testing the recent 2.5% pullback yield support, EUR/USD sticking largely sideways this morning not straying far from the large 1.14 options level that dominates today and so far proving magnetic.
USD/JPY sitting just off the 40-year highs at 162.40~ seen overnight, as quarter/month end proves supportive for the pair.
UK Q1 GDP confirmed at 0.6%/q.