The buck was sold in NY trading as the return to risk trades was prevalent ahead of tonight's US election results. US stocks rallied a whopping 4% as the S&P 500 broke back above the key psychological 1000 level. Euro saw smart gains after dipping lower in London. EUR/USD traded 135 pips higher into the 1.2980/90 zone. EUR/JPY meanwhile was bid more than 140 points towards a 129.45/50 close. This kept USD/JPY relatively subdued, though the pair did make a brief try over the 100.00 area towards 100.50 before settling near the 99.70 mark.
Oil prices rallied hard on the weak USD and the commodity jumped more than 10% to settle well above the $70/bbl level. This helped boost CAD some more, following good gains in the earlier session. USD/CAD plunged more than -150 points and was sitting near 1.1500/10 at the close. The pair sees critical trendline support near 1.1450 which held during the entire NY session. A break below here should see the weakness continue.
The US election now looms as the main event for the Asia session. Market probabilities are near 90% for an Obama victory but McCain wins in some early reporting critical battle-ground states could stir expectations up a touch. Prospects of a McCain upset should see volatility in FX intensify. We will be closely watching the results all night. Stay tuned to the FOREX Insider for more!
Upcoming Economic Data Releases (Asia Session) Prior Estimate
- 11/4/2008 23:50 GMT JN Monetary Base (YoY) OCT 0.90% - -
- 11/5/2008 0:01 GMT UK Nationwide Consumer Confidence OCT 50 47
- 11/5/2008 0:30 GMT AU Trade Balance SEP 1364M 500M
- 11/5/2008 0:30 GMT AU Building Approvals (MoM) SEP -3.70% -1.00%
- 11/5/2008 0:30 GMT AU Building Approvals (YoY) SEP -8.60% -14.30%
- 11/5/2008 3:30 GMT JN BOJ's Shirakawa to Speak at Business Meeting in Tokyo 5-Nov
