Forex news for North American trade on August 12, 2021:
- US July PPI 7.8% y/y vs 7.3% expected
- US initial jobless claims 375K vs 375K estimate
- Canada will hold a Federal election on Sept 20 - report
- Mexican central bank hikes benchmark interest rate to 4.50% from 4.25%
- US treasury auctions off $27 billion of 30 year bonds at 2.04% versus WI 2.03%
- OPEC sees 2021, 2022 global oil demand growth forecasts unchanged in latest monthly report
Markets:
- Gold up $1 to $1752
- US 10-year yields up 0.5 bps to 1.364%
- WTI crude down 26-cents to $68.99
- S&P 500 up 13 points to 4460
- USD leads, NZD lags
The PPI report underscored just how important the inflation picture is to the market right now. It was on the high side and that helped to put a bid in the US dollar that never let up.
Despite a solid risk picture it was AUD, NZD and GBP lagging. GBP in particular was sold steadily throughout the session, falling to 1.3795 before posting a small late bounce. It had started European trading around 1.3865.
AUD and NZD both erased yesterday's CPI-inspired moves with selling accelerating after US trading began.
Curiously, CAD mostly held its ground despite some softness in oil and gas. Trudeau calling an election is no surprise but, if anything, it's a CAD-negative risk as an uncertainty discount is built up until the Sept 20 vote.
The heavyweight trio of EUR, USD and JPY didn't do much against one another. The US Treasury bond auction was on the soft side but didn't cause the same kind of ripples as the 10-year sale yesterday.
