- Shanghai share index up 1.6%, 2-week closing high
- French debt rises to 1,457.4 bln euros or 75.8% of GDP at end of Q3 – INSEE
- Spanish Q3 house prices fall 7% y/y, slight improvement on -7.7 in Q2
- Euro zone November leading economic index up 0.7% at 101.7 vs 0.6% gain in October -Conference Board
- Euro zone M3 money supply 3mnth moving average Sept-Nov +0.6% vs +1.6% Aug-Oct period, and weaker than median forecast of +0.8%. Annual rate -0.2%, weaker than +0.3% median forecast
- Japan did not intervene between Nov 27- Dec 28 – MOF
- Swiss KOF leading indicator 1.68 in December, up from unrevised 1.62 in November but below median forecast of 1.70
Well that was pretty dire stuff.
EUR/USD sits at 1.4345, very marginally firmer on the day having started out down around 1.4330. We’ve been narrow rangebound, the EUR/USD pairing garnering its slight advance from some EUR/GBP buying interest as much as anything. There is a 1.4350 option expiry at today’s New York cut.
EUR/GBP having started around .9015 is up at .9050 having been as high as .9055. The rally has been down in no small part to a European sovereign doing its usual month-end buying linked to UK payments to the European Community.
The EUR/GBP cross action has helped put pressure on cable which is down at 1.5850 from an early 1.5895. Traders will have also noted an article in todays Telegraph entitled “Britain’s debt a riskier proposition than Italy’s” Oh dear.
USD/JPY hardly moved all morning, sitting at 92.22 up a mere 7 points from where it stood 6 hours ago. Nuff said.
AUD/USD marginally firmer, up at .8935 from early .8910.