Forex news for New York trade on June 12, 2020:
- U Mich consumer sentiment 78.9 vs 75.0 expected
- Fed mon pol report: Data since non-farm payrolls survey suggest job gains have continued
- Florida COVID-19 cases rise 2.8% vs 2.0% seven-day average
- California COVID-19 case growth slows but Texas hospitalizations hit new high
- US CDC total cases eclipse 2 million
- Fed's Barkin: Does not see negative rates happening in the United States
- Baker Hughes US oil rig count 199 vs 206 prior
- CDC warns that more mitigation measures might be needed if cases go up dramatically
- Arizona reports record 1,654 COVID-19 cases vs 1,412 yesterday
- Nigerian Kyari says OPEC+ might not need to extend full cuts into August
- Fed's Barkin: Some of the jobs lost will not come back
- Kudlow says US is not having a second wave and isn't going to shut down economy
- Canada Q1 capacity utilization 79.8% vs 80.0% expected
- CFTC commitments of traders. EUR longs at highest since May 22, 2018
Markets:
- Gold up $3 to $1730
- WTI crude oil up 22-cents to $36.56
- S&P 500 up 39 points to 3041
- US 10-year yields up 3 bps to 0.70%
- CAD leads, CHF lags
The US dollar continue the retracement against the euro and pound as the week wound down. Both EUR/USD and GBP/USD were higher in early European trade but fell particularly hard in North American trade to finish a half-cent lower.
The weakness was underscored by a weakening backdrop in equities. What started out as a big bounce slowly faded into a 1% loss. However after flushing out stops below 3000 and the 200-dma, the S&P 500 bounced late. EUR and GBP didn't get a big lift but finished well above the lows.
The commodity currencies were dragged around by the risk trade as well. AUD/USD started NY trade near 0.69 but fell as low as 0.6813, which was just above the Asian low. Bids there sparked a 35 pip rebound. The loonie and kiwi followed the same paht.
USD/JPY climbed a half-cent on the day as US Treasury yields bounced. Even as equity markets sagged, the pair held a decent bid. That could be seen as a good sign but it came after four days of solid selling.
The plunge Thursday was somewhat cathartic for an extremely emotional market in an uncertain time. The volatility today helped to establish a modest foundation but it will be touch-and-go for awhile.
Have a great weekend!
