The early part of Asian trading was quiet in anticipation of a slew of Chinese data that was due out at 2:00GMT. Most traders spent the morning positioning themselves for the possibility of strong data out of the largest global economy. The strong numbers out of China never materialized, but they were in fact right in line with estimates which failed to appease the markets. The dollar gained strength on the lack of fireworks as traders began to take profit from the higher yielding currencies.
EUR/USD dropped down below the psychological 1.5000 level to hit a session low at 1.4980 before a reversal put the pair right at the 1.5000 heading into London. AUD/USD shed almost 70 pips to below 0.9230 and NZD/USD dropped from early 0.7600 highs to just below 0.7510 for the day. The British Pound remained steady on the day after being boosted yesterday when the BoE minutes showed an unanimous vote against expanding their asset purchase program.
Spot Gold followed the risk move lower, as it dropped almost $5 to lows just short of $1056.00 per ounce. Gold has been mirroring moves in the Euro as of late, and today was no different.
WTI Crude oil also remained at higher levels over the $81.00 per barrel levels.
The yen moves today were tame with USD/JPY hovering near the 91.00 figure most of the day. A late session break higher to 91.40 highs looked to face resistance from exporter offers in that area. The crosses were contained in range bound trading as equities languished as expected.
Looking ahead, the items to take notice of are UK and Canadian retail sales, US unemployment claims, and once again a flurry of FOMC members speaking right around the New York lunch break.
