Europe Summary and Highlights 15 August
The USD moved lower through the European morning.
European morning session
The USD moved lower through the European morning. EUR/USD rose 25 pips to 1.1685, and USD/JPY fell 25 pips to 146.85. GBP, CAD and AUD all gained only very slightly, losing ground to the EUR and JPY on the crosses. The NOK was the strongest currency on the morning, with EUR/NOK slipping 2 figures lower to 11.89.
Swiss GDP was the only data of note, showing a 0.1% Q2 rise, but produced no market reaction. There wasn’t any other news of note, with the market awaiting the Trump-Putin summit as well as the US data later.
Asia session
The Japan preliminary Q2 GDP came in stronger at +0.3% q/q, with private consumption slightly better than forecast and stronger business spending. It would be a welcoming news for the BoJ as it proves certain nominal wage growth has stimulated private consumption. However, with real wage remain negative, we are vigilant on an imminently solid recovery in consumption. USD/JPY is trading 0.41% lower at 147.14 as JGB yields outperform U.S. Treasury yields.
The broad risk sentiment is performing individually with the HSI lagging and U.S. major equity indexes all in the green. The USD has retraced partial Thursday gains. The slate of Chinese data are also mixed. AUD/USD is trading 0.09% higher at 0.6501, NZD/USD is trading 0.04% higher at 0.5920 while USD/CAD slides 0.1%. Else, EUR/USD and GBP/USD is up 0.13%.