North American Summary and Highlights 29 October
Overview - The USD saw some gains ahead of the US data but ended mixed and little changed overall.
North American session
The USD saw some early gains, USD/JPY to a high of 153.87 and EUR/USD to a low of 1.0769, but ended little changed. There was little reaction to a large rise in the advance September US trade deficit, to $108.2bn from $94.2bn, though this added to downside risk for Q3 GDP. The USD did take a hit when September job openings fell by 418k to 7.443m, but a rise in October consumer confidence to 108.7 from 99.2 provided some balance.
After slipping to near 153 on the job openings data USD/JPY recovered to around 153.45. EUR/USD moved back above 1.08 while GBP/USD also advanced, but saw limited progress above 1.30. With oil softer USD/CAD rose above 1.39 while AUD/USD stabilized near .6550.
European morning session
USD/JPY gained 40 pips through the European morning, while the USD was mixed elsewhere, with GBP, CAD and AUD slightly firmer and EUR/USD slightly softer. USD/CHF also gained 20 pips to 0.8670. The NOK was the best performer through the session, with EUR/NOK dropping 7 figures to 11.83. EUR/SEK was marginally firmer at 11.52 after weaker than expected Q3 Swedish GDP data which showed a 0.1% decline on the quarter and the year.
Other data saw a slight improvement in the Gfk German consumer climate index to its best level since April 2022. UK money data was mixed with M4 growth stronger than expected at 0.6% m/m, but consumer credit and, mortgage lending both weaker on the month.
In the face of JPY weakness, Japan's Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato reiterated on Tuesday that the authorities would be vigilant to foreign exchange moves, including those driven by speculators.