Tue, Aug 26 2008, 14:02 GMT
by Forex.com Research Desk
Higher oil prices helped push the greenback lower in the NY session as speculation that Hurricane Gustav might impact oil facilities in the Gulf of Mexico intensified. Oil rallied nearly $5 from the intraday lows to a high near $117.80/bbl before tapering off to a close around $116.20/bbl. We would expect range-bound trading in the commodity for the balance of the week as Gustav make its way towards the Gulf, expected to reach there sometime Sunday.
US economic data continued to show signs of stabilization, but this was not enough to offset the negative impact to the USD from higher oil. Nonetheless, new home sales rose to 515K in July after a downwardly revised 503K print the prior month. The main takeaway from the report was that inventory levels continued to fall -- albeit at a slow pace -- as prospective buyers react positively to lower prices.
Consumer confidence also rose to 56.9 in August from 51.9 prior. The gains were concentrated in the expectations component while the further deterioration in the labor differential -- suggesting a higher unemployment rate -- was the fly in the ointment. So while consumers feel downtrodden about the current situation, future prospects look brighter.
EUR/USD rallied about 70 points in the session to a close near the 1.4655 mark. We would expect the pair to trade close to the price action in oil markets until the hurricane fears dissipate. GBP/USD recovered about 65 points in the session towards a close around the 1.8400 level. USD/JPY was neither here nor there, closing down about 25 pips from the 109.85 open.
The highlight for the Asia session looks to be the New Zealand business confidence report due up at 0300GMT. The market has no estimate for this number but a substantial slip from the July print of -43.2 should see some NZD selling. NZD/USD should find good support near the 0.6890 trendline on a sharp move lower, while good resistance lurks near the 0.7040 mark.
Published on Tue, Aug 26 2008, 23:01 GMT
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