Forex news for US trading on Oct 21, 2015:

  • Bank of Canada leaves rates unchanged at 0.50%
  • Full text of Bank of Canada Statement
  • CMC Markets told to refund thousands on SNB trades in UK ruling
  • Q&A: BOE's Carney no impact on EU economy so far from Brexit talk
  • BOE's Carney: UK benefitted from EU membership, avoided drawbacks
  • SNB's Jordan: Without negative rates CHF would be much stronger
  • Joe Biden announces he will not run for President
  • Bank of Canada's Poloz sees 'clear signs' growth is picking up
  • EIA crude oil inventories +8028K vs +3750K expected
  • South Africa cuts 2015 GDP target, widens budget deficit targets
  • Gold down $9 to $1167
  • WTI Crude down $1.07 to $45.22
  • US 10-year yields down 4 bps to 2.02%
  • S&P 500 down 12 points to 2018
  • USD leads, CAD lags

The economic calendar was light on Wednesday except for the Bank of Canada but Poloz & Co delivered a trading opportunity after downgrading growth forecasts and pushing out the closure of the output gap. USD/CAD was slow to respond at first but eventually began to move higher and continued 120 pips from pre-BOC levels with only minor corrections along the way.

Cable was the other mover in US trading but the reasons were far less clear. Bids just after the London fix boosted the pair to a session high at 1.5475 but then it faded and continued lower as Carney spoke. He didn't have anything notable to say so it's tough to point the finger at him as cable skidded to a session low of 1.5418. The 55-dma and 5-day low are nearby.

EUR/USD was moderately softer but held the European low. It was a slow chop to 1.1338 from 1.1350. Not many fortunes are made on a move that small but it's understandable with the ECB up tomorrow.

USD/JPY was a similar story despite a bit of volatility in stocks and bonds. The soft Japanese trade data may have kept a bid under the pair despite worsening risk appetite. It came close to the European low of 119.80 but then bounced back close to 120.00.

The Aussie was on the soft side in a slow grind to 0.7212 from 0.7230 at the start of US trading. It touched a session low of 0.7201 but bids ahead of the big figure held.