North American Summary and Highlights 19 September
Overview - Unchanged rates decisions gave some support to GBP and NOK. Data gave modest support to the USD.
North American session
The Bank of England left rates unchanged as expected with a less dovish than expected 8-1 vote. EUR/GBP slipped to .8395 from .8420 but later edged back above .84. A bounce in GBP/USD above 1.33 was brief.
The USD got a lift from a fall in initial claims to 219k from 231k while the September Philly Fed index bounced to 1.7 from -7.0, though the gain faded and the USD ended little changed, USD/JPY near 142.60 and EUR/USD near 1.1160. Gains in equities kept the riskier currencies supported.
European morning session
The USD lost ground against the riskier currencies through the European morning. EUR/USD gained almost half a figure to test 1.1180, while AUD/USD gained 35 pips to 0.6835, and USD/CAD also lost half a figure to 1.3540.
The best performer was the NOK, which fell 1% to 10.44, helped by the Norges Bank decision to leave rate unchanged at 4.5%, although it did moderate its hawkish rhetoric slightly. The SEK also outperformed the EUR, but EUR/CHF gained around 20 pips to 0.9450, reflecting the risk positive mood. USD/JPY was net unchanged after an early dip.