And, also the Fed helps. US jobless claims came out at 260K, better than 266K expected. The US trade deficit squeezed from 43.6 to 42.4, also slightly above expectations. Factory orders also beat expectations by rising by 1.2%, better than 1% that was anticipated. The revisions for durable goods orders were revised higher. So, all the figures beat expectations.Â
These are not top-tier figures but they seem to have triggered another round of dollar buying.
In addition, there were a few public appearances from Fed officials. Most notably, John Williams still sounded optimistic about a 2% inflation rate and a rate hike in December. Harker also seemed on board. Powell, which is a candidate to replace Yellen as Fed Chair, did not mention monetary policy.
- EUR/USD extended its drops to the 2015 high of 1.1712, spot on. The euro has its own issues: dovish talk by the ECB and the crisis in Catalonia.
- GBP/USD slipped to 1.3130. The stalled Brexit talks add to the pressure. The pound is nearly 500 pips off the highs.
- USD/JPY rose to 112.60 from a dip earlier on.
- USD/CAD is topping 1.25 and has already reached 1.2544. Canada’s trade balance came out worse than expected.
- AUD/USD is struggling to hold onto the 0.78 level.
The big event is tomorrow: the US jobs report. Here is the preview: Trading the NFP with EUR/USD: an upside-down V-shaped graph?
Here is the EUR/USD chart:
