The greenback was higher for the most part in the London session as very weak Eurozone data helped it extend gains. French consumer spending for June was a paltry -0.4% and the annual growth rate was a weaker than expected 1.0%, to boot. Eurozone industrial orders for May was even worse coming in at -3.5% versus an expected -1.3% print. This put pressure on EUR/USD, taking the pair from an open near 1.5790 to 1.5730 at the close.
The JPY crosses were bid in London trading as a good stock market performance across the globe likely fuelled carry trades further. Asian marts were up about 1% while Europe was up roughly 1.5% last we looked. USD/JPY rallied from an open near 107.25 to around 107.80 at the close. We expect the pair to be focused on US earnings reports once again and we have a number of insurance companies reporting after the US stock market close. Stay tuned.
GBP looks to be the only one to have made some gains against the buck in the London session. The latest BOE minutes were released and showed that the vote on rates was 7-1-1 for no move. Timothy Besley proffered an increase of 25 bps while David Blanchflower favored a reduction of 25 bps. The market took the news as hawkish and helped GBP/USD from an open near 1.9930 to a close around the 1.9985 mark.
Upcoming Economic Data Releases (NY Session):
- 7/23 13:00 GMT US Fed's Mishkin Speaks at Bank of Canada Conference
- 7/23 15:15 GMT US Fed's Kohn Speaks on Transparency
- 7/23 18:00 GMT US Fed's Beige Book 23-Jul
- 7/23 21:00 GMT NZ RBNZ Official Cash Rate 24-Jul 8.25% 8.25%
