Forex headlines for Asia-Pacific trading on Oct 20, 2015:
- Canadian Liberals win majority in election
- Justin Trudeau to be new Prime Minister
- Canada's Stephen Harper to resign as party leader
- RBA Minutes: Economic, financial conditions will inform policy stance
- Carney will reveal BOE's position on Brexit Wednesday
- Hilsenrath: Debt ceiling debate another reason Fed will wait
- IBM cuts forecast after earnings miss
- US Treasury softens yuan rhetoric
- Gold down $2 to $1168
- Shanghai Composite down 0.1% to 3383
- WTI crude oil up 19-cents to $46.08
- AUD leads, CAD lags
Market moves have been relatively modest in Asia-Pacific trading as the US dollar bounce runs out of gas. The euro made a modest move higher but stalled ahead of 1.1340 after a 10 pip climb. It didn't get any traction from there and slipped back to 1.1335.
USD/JPY was in a tight range from 119.43 to 119.56. It's been a couple days of narrowing trade and I don't suspect it will last long.
Cable showed some fresh life after a late retracement in NY trading as it rose to 1.5478 from 1.5460.
USD/CAD was in the spotlight due to the election. Trudeau pulled off a surprise majority. As the TV networks predicted he would win the vote the pair rose 20 pips to 1.3047 despite a rise in oil prices.
The Australian dollar was the other focus. The RBA had a chance to put a rate cut on the table in the Minutes but they were upbeat on the domestic economy and not overly concerned about China. AUD/USD initially jumped 25 pips but many pointed out that the Westpac rate hike was a gamechanger and keeps a November cut on the table.