Forex news for US trading 2 April 2015:

  • Iran nuclear framework deal reached
  • US initial jobless claims 268K vs 286K expected
  • US Feb factory orders +0.2% vs -0.4% expected
  • Feb nondefense cap orders ex-aircraft revised to -1.1% from -1.4%
  • US Feb trade deficit $35.4B vs $41.2B expected
  • Canadian Feb trade deficit $0.98B vs $2B expected
  • March ISM New York 50.0 vs 62.0 expected
  • UBS now sees the RBA cutting rates next week
  • Challenger March US job cuts 36.6K vs 50.6K prior
  • Yellen doesn't comment on the outlook for monetary policy
  • Report: Greece has told creditors it will run out of cash on April 9 (later denied)
  • Greece 'categorically' denies report it has told creditors it will run out of cash
  • ECB Minutes: Council saw no need to consider new policy steps
  • Baker Hughes rig count 1028 vs 1048 prior

The euro caught a bid and wouldn't let go of it. Everyone struggled to understand and explain the rally in the euro that took it 120 pips higher on the day. It was well-bid in European trading but it looked over after strong trade and jobless claims numbers from the US. But that dip was bought ahead of 1.0800 and it shot to 1.0905 in a straight line.

There was talk of levered buying in EUR/JPY in a thin market. There was talk of USD longs covering ahead of NFP. It doesn't add up to much but sometimes that's the nature of FX.

USD/JPY finishes the day virtually unchanged. It was a steady grind higher after bottoming around 119.40 in Europe, testing the bottom from a day earlier and holding. The trade numbers gave it a jolt to 119.90 from 119.60 but the pair didn't make a serious push for 120.00 and sagged back to 119.76 late.

The UK election debate hasn't delivered any kind of volatility but there will be plenty of punditry on the long weekend. Cable tried the downside on the US data but found a firm bid near 1.4780 and bounced to 1.4680. But unlike the euro it couldn't hold on and drifted back to 1.4828.

USD/CAD was on the defensive even though oil prices fell on the Iran deal. The US dollar hit the highs of the day at 1.2650 on the trade balance but the market seemed to miss just how good the Canadian trade numbers were at first. It eventually caught on and that helped the pair fall to 1.2563, closing at the lows.

The close was big for the Australian dollar but it looks to have avoided a close below the March low. From 0.7533, it battled back to 0.7588. Still, it was the eight consecutive day of losses.

It will be a bit quiet around here for the day ahead because many markets are closed. Here's a full list of what markets are closed on Good Friday