FX markets weren’t quite silent, but they cenrtainly were calm.
Traders stayed close to home in an uneventful overnight session. The greenback managed to squeeze out tiny gains against the Japanese yen and British pound while posting tiny losses against the rest.
EURUSD was inching higher until the German IFO Survey was released. IFO Expectations and Business Climate were below forecasts while Current Assessment beat the estimate. EURUSD dropped from 1.1817 to 1.1791 but recovered quickly.
Sterling traded in a similar to the euro. GBPUSD rallied to 1.3400 and retreated to 1.3355. Prices opened in New York at 1.3368.
In Asia, NZDUSD popped at the open thanks to better than expected data and is the best performing currency overnight.
AUDUSD was a tad firmer after the RBA minutes were mildly optimistic on the economic outlook.
USDJPY steadied, trading in a narrow band supported by progress with US tax reform legislation.
Oil prices continue to be supported by the North Sea pipeline outage. However, rising US production concerns are acting as a drag on the gains. WTI oil was steady in a $57.18-$57.50/b range.
The modestly soft US dollar underpinned gold prices. XAUUSD traded in a $1,260.55-$1,264.92 range and opened in New York near the top of the range.
USDCAD was ignored. Prices are consolidating in a 1.2800-1.2915 range, supported by expectations of divergent CAD/US interest rate spreads.
US Housing Starts, Building Permits, and Current Account data is on tap this morning. However, the US tax debate will overshadow the economic reports. There aren’t any Canadian data due.
FX markets are in holiday mode and will be flow driven rather than data driven.
USDCAD Technical outlook:
The USDCAD technicals are unchanged from yesterday. They are bullish inside a 1.2700-1.2915 range. A break above 1.2915 opens the door to 1.3050 while a break of the 1.2660-1.2700 area would target 1.2500. For today, USDCAD support is at 1.2830 and 1.2780. Resistance is at 1.2890-1.2915 and 1.2970.
Today’s Range 1.2810-1.2890
