Forex news and trading headlines 13 December 2016

News:

  • QE reduction was a very welcome change says ECB's Hansson
  • IMF says Spain should preserve economic reforms to sustain "dynamic performance"
  • IEA raises 2017 oil demand growth forecast by 110k bpd to 1.3m bpd
  • Option expiries for the 10 am NY cut today 13 Dec
  • Nikkei 225 closes up +0.5% at 19,250.52

Data:

  • UK CPI Nov mm +0.2% vs +0.2% exp
  • Germany Dec ZEW survey current situation 63.5 vs 59.0 exp
  • Germany CPI November final mm +0.1% as expected
  • Eurozone Q3 employment change +0.2% vs +0.4% prev
  • Spain CPI Nov mm final +0.4% vs +0.3% expected
  • Italian industrial production showing mixed results in November

Another session that's provided opportunity but its all been painfully slow as traders and robots try to second-guess the US Fed and subsequent fallout.

EURUSD began the day looking to break through 1.0650 and EURGBP through 0.8400 but yet another failure triggered euro sales across the board with that pair falling to 1.0604 and EURGBP to 0.8345 and have remained on the back foot since despite stronger headline German ZEW data.

EURCHF has also been in retreat with no sign of the SNB and the move from 1.0790 to 1.0747 as I type which has capped USDCHF along with some further CHFJPY demand.

The EUGBP retreat saw GBPUSD challenge 1.2700 again and the level finally broke on the UK CPI data although it took second-wave buying to do so. Offers/res around 1.2725 have capped that move so far but bids appearing back into 1.2700

USDJPY had been rising steadily from 114.85 in Asia as Nikkei turned higher on talk of an Asahi bid for SABMiller for JPY 900bln and from 115.30 we've crawled inch by inch to 115.48 before running into the expected offers/res between 115.50-60 and retreating slowly back to 115.30

USDCAD has been on the back foot as oil prices firm in a move on commodities that's also seen AUD and NZD benefit helped by EURAUD and EURNZD sales.

Not a lot to shake things up data wise across the pond but we can expect more of the same as markets remain in fragile mode.