Forex headlines for April 21, 2014:
- Chicago Fed March national activity index +0.20 vs +0.20 expected
- US March leading indicators +0.8% vs +0.7% expected
- Ex-Gov Suda says BOJ likely to refrain from adding stimulus as long as possible
- Russia’s Lavrov says Ukraine is ” crudely violating” the Geneva agreement
- Fannie and Freddie trim US housing forecasts
- Japan appoints 7 to pension fund committee, makes agressive shift
- Two Eastern European separatists killed Monday
- CFTC Commitments of Traders: Yen shorts slashed
- Fed paper says long-term unemployed have same effect on inflation
Essential market data
- EUR/USD 1.3791 High: 1.3830 Low: 1.3787
- USD/JPY 102.59 High: 102.71 Low: 102.39
- GBP/USD 1.6794 High: 1.6819 Low: 1.6784
- USD/CAD 1.1020 High: 1.1031 Low 1.0009
- AUD/USD 0.9336 High: 0.9346 Low: 0.9316
- S&P 500 up 5 points to 1870
- WTI crude down 9-cents to $104.21
- Gold down $5 to $1289
- CAD leads, NZD lags
The bad news is that markets were more-or-less about how you’d expect on Easter Monday — very quiet. The good news is that trading will begin to pick up when Asia rolls in Tuesday.
All the talk is about Ukraine and Japan’s pension fund shakeup. In Easter Ukraine, the optimism after the joint statement on Thursday is quickly fading as separatists refuse to disarm. Sporadic outbreaks of violence will keep markets on edge. In Japan, the market is sorting thought the consumption tax hike, the lack of hints of action from the BOJ and changes at the $1.2 trillion public pension. USD/JPY is stuck in the middle.
The mover in US trading was the euro, and it moved for no particular reasons. The pair rose as high as 1.3831 about an hour before US traders started to roll in but the pressure as steadily downward after. Friday’s low broke and then the big figure and then 1.3790. None of the moves set off stops or any fireworks but the move was large enough for traders to take notice.
The mild climb higher in stocks didn’t do much for broader markets. Most traders are skeptical of anything on a low volume day and FX and bonds responded accordingly.
