North American Summary and Highlights 24 Apr
Overview - USD/JPY broke above 155 though the USD was mixed with little clear direction elsewhere.
North American session
USD/JPY spiked above 155 early in North America and while initially struggling to sustain the break accelerated in the afternoon to reach a high of 155.37 before settling around 155.25. The move saw no obvious trigger. US durable goods orders with a rise of 2.6%, 0.2% ex transport were close to consensus.
EUR/USD had little direction near 1.07 though ended slightly firmer. EUR/USD slightly underperformed GBP/USD which advanced to 1.2465. AUD/USD slippage stabilized near pre-CPI levels around .65. USD/CAD moved above 1.37 on a 0.1% decline in Canadian retail sales before returning to the figure. BoC minutes from April 10 showed differing opinions on when the BoC should start easing, and had little market impact.
European morning session
The USD edged higher through the European morning, gaining around 0.2% against the EUR, GBP and CAD and around 0.4% against the AUD and scandis. USD/JPY was marginally higher, but did make a new 34 year high at 154.97. EUR/CHF gained around 10 pips.
The German IFO survey was the main news in the session, and this showed a slightly larger improvement in April than the published consensus, but was likely broadly in line with market expectations after Tuesday’s stronger than expected German PMI. There was also Swedish unemployment, which saw a larger than expected rise to 8.3% in March on a smoothed seasonally adjusted basis, and may have contributed to the weaker SEK.