ForexLive European FX news wrap: US Senate passes tax bill vote, Bitcoin rebounds from early plunge

Forex news from European trading - 20 December 2017

Economic data:

• Germany Nov PPI m/m +0.1% vs +0.2% expected
• Eurozone Oct current account EUR 30.8bn vs EUR 37.8bn prior
• UK Dec CBI retailing reported sales 20 vs 20 expected
• US MBA mortgage applications w.e. 15 Dec -4.9% vs -2.3% prior

Central banks/Governments:

• US GOP tax bill has enough votes for passage
• Trump to hold presser at 2100 GMT if House approves final tax bill vote
• EU proposes Article 7 option to sanction Poland on democracy risks
• EU's Barnier: Sufficient progress was important, necessary step
• More from EU's Barnier: After Brexit, UK won't be covered by international agreements
• BOE report: UK economic activity remained broadly stable
• China to promote free-trade zone reform - Xinhua
• China will keep yuan exchange rate stable at a reasonable and balanced level
• China will maintain prudent, neutral monetary policy in 2018
• EU commission: Brexit transition to end on 31 Dec 2020
• More from IMF's Lagarde: UK economy is losing out as a result of Brexit decision
• UK's Hammond: UK faces a significant productivity challenge
• IMF: UK economy getting boost from exports

Bitcoin/Cryptocurrencies:

• Bitcoin turns the corner, now higher on the day
• Meet the hedge fund with a 25,004% return since 2013
• Cyber attacks continue to plague the cryptocurrency world
• Litecoin founder sells and donates all his LTC
• Fund managers say that Bitcoin is the 'most crowded trade' this month

Others:

• FX option expiries for the 10am NY cut - 20 Dec 2017
• Reuters poll: Canada house prices forecasted to rise 1.9% in 2018
• Nikkei 225 closes up +0.10% at 22,891.72
• Poll shows GOP tax bill is a bad idea

Markets:

• CAD, AUD leads the way, CHF the laggard so far
• European equities mostly lower on the day
• Gold is up by 0.31% to $1,265.65
• WTI crude is up by 0.38% to $57.77
• US 10-year yields flat at 2.47%
• Bitcoin higher by 4% on the day to $17,675

It's been a quiet day in the FX market, as most traders were probably looking at the Bitcoin chart during the first half of the session. Most major pairs stayed range-bound, with only cable attempting to break the stigma by testing the 1.3400 level for a break. But sellers prevailed, and the pair is now at 1.3395 - still eyeing for that 1.3400 level.

Apart from that, dollar remains mixed as it is higher against safe haven pairs of JPY and CHF - as 10-year yields seem to be holding its ground at 2.47%. Earlier in the day, the US Senate got enough votes to pass the tax bill, so we're now awaiting the House to pass their final version and it's a done deal. Oh, and Trump has a press conference due once that happens too!

NZD rebounded after a slow start to the day, while the AUD and CAD also inched higher against the USD.

The EUR got a bit of a late scare as the EU commission initiated Article 7.1 against Poland in an unprecedented move. But the currency is still holding firm after a minor drop.

All the action has been in the cryptocurrency world, where we saw bitcoin parred losses following a drop early in the day. The drop was caused by Coinbase's announcement to offer up bitcoin cash in its trading - but then it encountered some problems as an investigation is now being conducted for insider trading that messed with the order book. Bitcoin cash at one point hit $9,500 on Coinbase's GDAX exchange - much higher than the $3,400-$3,500 on other exchanges.

Bitcoin plunged to below $16,000 but then has since recovered as it is now gunning for the $18,000 mark.

Also, Litecoin's founder decided to sell all his holdings of LTC - Litecoin's currency. Litecoin holds the fifth biggest market cap in the cryptocurrency space, and is trading higher by almost 7,000% this year.

All in all, a quiet day if you're a FX trader - but not short of action when you add cryptocurrencies into the basket.