NY trading was once again highlighted by the return of risk aversion.  US stocks plunged more than -3% on the back of a dismal US retail sales report that showed a -2.7% headline decline for the month of December.  The control number, which excludes auto dealers and building materials, sank at a whopping -22.3% annual rate over 4Q and suggests a US GDP number in the realm of -7% cannot be ruled out.  Despite the overall weak tone to US economic news, the buck was mixed against the majors.

EUR/USD was little changed from the NY session open and sitting near 1.3180 just ahead of Asia trading.  The 1.31 level looks crucial overnight now and we would expect a break below 1.3080 hourly trendline support should open the door to 1.30 relatively quickly.  The yen crosses were lower as US bond yields plunged on the flight to safety.  USD/JPY slipped about -50 pips towards key 89 support level while EUR/JPY shed more than -65 points towards the 117.30/40 zone.

Commodity currencies were crushed as better than expected weekly petroleum inventory builds drove oil prices lower.  Crude recovered a touch but was still down more than $1 near $37.40 at the close.  USD/CAD surged more than 250 pips and was sitting near the 1.2480/90 intraday highs minutes ago.  AUD/USD, meanwhile, sank about -90 pips to around a 0.6600/10 close.

Upcoming Economic Data Releases (Asia Session)  prev  est

  • 1/14 23:50 GMT JN Machine Orders (MoM) NOV -4.40% -8.00%
  • 1/14 23:50 GMT JN Domestic CGPI (MoM) DEC -1.90% -1.50%
  • 1/15 0:30 GMT AU Employment Change DEC -15.6K -20.0K
  • 1/15 0:30 GMT AU Unemployment Rate DEC 4.40% 4.50%
  • 1/15 5:00 GMT US Fed's Yellen Speaks on U.S. Economy