• US weekly jobless claims rise to 531,000, up 11,000; continuing claims dip below 6 mln
  • US leading economic indicators rise 1% in September; sixth straight rise
  • Belgian business sentiment index improves to -14.2 from -17.8 (closely correlated with Ifo)
  • US home prices fell 0.3% in August; Federal Housing Finance Agency
  • Bank of Canada: Could use FX intervention to help meet inflation target
  • Boston Fed’s Rosengren: Dollar not part of our mandate but a consideration in meeting employment inflation mandates
  • Upbeat comments from Wal Mart help set off stock rally; S&P rises 1% to 1093, reversing early losses; Amazon posts strong earning, may suggest consumer recovering
  • Opec says may raise production in December if conditions right

Stocks were lower early in the day. The dollar rallied. Stocks rallied during the afternoon. The dollar dropped. That more or less sums up a relatively unimaginative session.

EUR/USD ends the New York session at the highs of the day. A large US investment bank has been a heavy buyer of the euro the entire afternoon, targeting the 1.5050 barrier, traders surmise. At writing, we deal at 1.5036.

Cable is within pips of the 1.6636 level which has capped rallies for the last 24 hours. A good mix of sell orders and stop-loss buy orders are seen in the 1.6650/60 area, traders say.

USD/JPY reached 91.70 during the New York morning with the JPY under pressure across the board. The dollar bid relented in the afternoon but EUR/JPY and GBP/JPY were supported during the afternoon, cushioning the downside for USD/JPY. USD/JPY trades at 91.25.

Commodity currencies recouped lost ground in the afternoon with dealers shrugging off talk of heavy sales from scandal-plagued hedge fund Galleon. Comments from the BOC threatening intervention to weaken the CAD and help the BOC achieve its inflation target (which it is well-below) fell on deaf ears but should not be dismissed. It may take a page from the SNB’s playbook and buy the currency of its biggest trading partner. USD/CAD ends at 1.0475, AUD/USD at 0.9275