Thu, Jul 31 2008, 22:53 GMT
by Forex.com Research Desk
Despite weaker than expected economic data and a stock market rout the buck held in pretty well against the majors in the NY session. The advance read of US 2Q GDP came in below market expectations at 1.9% from 0.9% in 1Q. The weakness in the automotive sector contributed heavily to the disappointment and excluding autos GDP would have been a very healthy 3.1% for the quarter.
Initial jobless claims were a worse than anticipated 448K after a 404K print the prior week and this took the 4-week moving average to 393K from 382K. Statistical quirks seem to be at play here as the first two weeks of the month were relatively low and the last two were on the high side. The government seems to have had trouble adjusting the data to the timing of the typical summer automotive layoffs.
Euro shot up against the buck on the weaker news, getting as high as 1.5700 in NY trading after opening around the 1.5610 mark. Better than expected Chicago PMI -- which rose to 50.8 in July from a prior 49.6 -- helped pare gains subsequently. EUR/USD would close near the 1.5600 level.
USD/JPY saw a similar knee-jerk reaction to the weak data reports, falling as low as 107.57 after opening the session around the 108.25 mark. The pair would come back some and held in relatively well considering the sharp decline in US stocks towards the latter half session. USD/JPY was sitting near 107.90 as the session came to a close.
The buck was bid against its Canadian counterpart as a weaker than expected monthly GDP out of Canada and lower oil prices weighed on the currency. Canada May GDP came in at a paltry -0.1% after a 0.4% expansion in April. Meanwhile, oil fell about $2 in the span to a close just above $124/bbl. This helped boost USD/CAD from an open near 1.0225 to a close around 1.0240.
Published on Thu, Jul 31 2008, 22:55 GMT
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