North American Summary and Highlights 24 Mar
Overview - FX movements were modest though the USD and oil rose on a report of US troops being sent to the Gulf.
European and North American sessions
FX movements were limited. A USD dip in Europe was fully erased and the USD moved higher in North America after a report that the US was to send 3,000 troops to the Gulf, though this move was mostly corrected with subsequent Trump comments hopeful for a deal with Iran. The troops story lifted oil and UST yields, with the latter also influenced by a weak 2-year auction. Equity moves were modest.
The troops story saw USD/JPY make a brief push above 159. EUR/USD was fairly stable spending most of the session slightly below 1.16. EUR/GBP made modest gains while EUR/CHF advanced more significantly to 9160 from .9130. AUD/USD was fairly stable near .6970 while USD/CAD saw modest gains to 1.3765.
US March S and P PMIs were mixed, manufacturing rising to 52.4 from 51.6 but services slipping to 51.1 from 51.7. Q4 non-farm productivity was revised down to 1.8% from 2.8% on the recent GDP revision, and unit labor costs revised up to 4.4% from 2.8%, the latter exceeding expectations with wages revised higher.