UK Prime Minister took her Brexit Plan B to the House of Commons for approval. She didn’t get it. She lost by 149 votes-those against her deal 391, those for, 242. Today, the politicians are voting on a motion that if passed, will prevent the UK from leaving the EU without a deal, the so called-no-deal Brexit. GBPUSD rallied, rising from 1.3062 in Asia to 1.3154 in Europe before drifting to 1.3137 at the New York open.
AUDUSD and NZDUSD saw a bit of action in an otherwise quiet FX session. AUDUSD traded lower on the back of weaker than expected consumer confidence data while NZDUSD suffered from a soft Food Price Index print. USDJPY traded lower in Asia but rebounded in Europe to open unchanged, in New York.
EURUSD consolidated yesterday’s gains in a narrow 1.1278-1.1301 range. Prices were supported by yesterday’s weaker than expected US February inflation data (Actual 1.5%, y/y vs forecast 1.6%). The single currency got a bit of a lift from better than forecast Industrial Production data. (Actual 1.4 vs forecast 1.0)
Yesterday, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer updated the Senate Finance Committee: on the China trade talks. He said, “Our hope is that we are in the final weeks of having an agreement.” But added, “I can’t predict success at this point.”
Oil prices were supported by yesterday’s American Petroleum Institute (API) weekly crude stocks report that showed crude inventories declining 2.58 million barrels in the week ending March 8.
USDCAD traded in a narrow range after breaking support in the 1.3380 area yesterday. Sellers emerged after prices failed to break above 1.3460 last week and they became more motivated following yesterday’s soft US inflation report coupled with a surge in WTI oil prices to $57.48 in early New York trading today.
US Durable Goods Orders for January (Forecast -0.5%) ex-transportation (0.1%), construction spending and PPI data are due this morning.
The intraday USDCAD flipped to bearish with the break below 1.3380 and are now looking for a break of support in the 1.3330-50 area to extend losses to 1.3290 and then 1.3255. However, the uptrend from October is still intact above 1.3160. For today, USDCAD support is at 1.3340 and 1.3310. Resistance is at 1.3380 and 1.3420
Today’s Range 1.3310-90
