Forex news for the European trading session - 16 April 2018
Economic data:
- Germany March wholesale price index m/m 0.0% vs -0.3% prior
- Switzerland March PPI m/m -0.2% vs +0.3% prior
- SNB total sight deposits w.e. 13 April CHF 575.1 bn vs CHF 574.9 bn prior
Headlines:
- Fed's Kashkari sees fiscal stimulus supporting gradual rate hikes
- BOJ's Amamiya says that central banks should be more attentive to innovation
- More from Wakatabe: Raising rates prematurely would push Japan back to recession
- BOJ's Wakatabe says no major disruption to Japan's financial intermediation
- US 2-year yields rises to highest level in almost a decade
- Kuwait says OPEC+ to consider oil cuts into 2019 in June meeting
- Germany to lag Eurozone growth in 2019 and 2020 - survey
- Japan PM Abe confirms North Korea on the agenda in talks with Trump
- China Q1 GDP to grow by 6.9% - state researcher
- HKMA's currency defense having little effect so far
Others:
- GBP leads, NZD lags behind so far
- European equities mixed, remain cautious
- Gold down by 0.14% to $1,343.52
- WTI down by 1.04% to $66.69
- US 10-year yields up by 3 bps to 2.858%
- Bitcoin up by 2.14% to $8,073
The key story of the session has been sterling's resilience after giving up gains from Friday. Cable started the session slowly before racing to almost three-month highs in a steady climb higher before popping above 1.4300.
No notable headlines for the move, but it's an extension of the uptrend for the month - once again underscoring the fact that April is once again a favourable month for sterling against the dollar.
Cable continues to sit at the highs, with the dollar struggling on the day. EUR/USD is also higher after finally breaking away from the ping pong range. The pair also sits near the highs on the day.
Meanwhile, USD/JPY has had an extremely subdued session in spite of all else that is going on. The pair continues to hug the 107.20 levels as it sits just above the 100-hour MA, refusing to budge after the earlier dip in Asian trading.
As for commodity currencies, the ranges haven't been too extreme with USD/CAD sitting near unchanged on the day and the aussie falling a little after hitting the highs for the day. The kiwi is proving to be the laggard to start the week after a stellar performance in last week's trading. Further retracement back to the upside in AUD/NZD helping to keep the kiwi pinned down for now.
Not much else has happened during the session as equities continue to signal a more cautious tone - which is reflected in USD/JPY in my view. Although the strikes in Syria appear to be a "one and done" scenario, it's hard to quantify the impact it has had on relations between US and Russia.
As we head into US trading, could it be another case of the deja vu for sterling like we saw on Friday? Either way, there's still a long week to navigate for sterling traders with the jobs report, inflation report, retail sales data, and Brexit bill debate at the House of Lords still to come this week.
