North American Summary and Highlights 8 Apr
Overview - In a day of limited news the USD saw some losses, with strong German data possibly playing a part.
North American session
The US session saw little fresh news or movement in equities or UST yields, though the USD was generally softer. GBP/USD saw the strongest gains, rising from a low of 1.2615 to 1.2660, while EUR/GBP was not far behind, rising from near 1.0820 to near 1.0860. AUD/USD moved above .66 while USD/JPY slipped by around 15 pips to 151.80.
The New York Fed’s survey on consumer inflation expectations was fairly neutral, stable on a 1-year view, higher on a 3-year view and lower on a 5-year view. Fed dove Goolsbee saw the recent jobs report as quite strong but said that unemployment would eventually rise if rates stay high.
European morning session
A risk positive European morning session saw the CHF weaken across the board while the commodity currencies made modest gains. EUR/CHF rose 20 pips to 0.9810, while AUD/USD gained around 10 pips to 0.6590 and USD/CAD lost around 10 pips to trade back below 1.36. EUR/USD was little changed near 1.0830, while USD/JPY tested to a high of 1.5192 before dropping back to near opening levels.
Newswise, the German industrial production data was on the strong side of expectations, rising 2.1% m/m, while the Sentix investor confidence index rose to -5.9, its highest since April 2022.