Intra-Day Market Moving News and Views GBP/USD

Intra-Day Market Moving News and Views 

GBP/USD - ... Although cable showed muted reaction to to release of U.K. Rightmove house prices, it was reported that the asking prices in London fell for a third month, dropping nearly 6% between Jul n Aug, much more than the typical fall in what is usually the quietest month of the summer for the housing market.

The decline adds to other signs of a slowing in Britain's fast-recovering real estate market. "A drop in August is typical but it's steeper than expected this year", Rightmove director Miles Shipside said. A 20% surge in properties coming onto the market in London, compared with August last year, helped explain the national fall, he said in a statement.'

Stricter rules on mortgage lending n expectations of interest rates rising from their record low were also factors. Shipside said the news would be a relief for the Bank of England which has described the housing market as the biggest domestic risk to Britain's economic recovery.

"There are signs the market is effecting its own natural slowdown without (an interest) rate rise, though underpinned by greater awareness among the public that the five-year holiday of record low interest rates is coming to an end," he said.

The pound opened higher at NZ around 1.6710 n climbed to an intra-day top of 1.6739 following hawkish comments by BoE Governor Carney in the Sunday Times. He told the newspaper in an interview made last Wed he would not have to wait for real wages to turn positive before raising interest rates.

Despite the initial gap-up open, cable quickly retreated due to lack of follow-through buying, price fell back to 1.6714 b4 moving sideways in Aust. n then Asian morning. Although the Sun Times report triggered broad-based short covering in sterling in thin Asian trading, it'd be interesting to see if London traders wud buy the pound on the news or not as this wud give market guidance on the near term direction of cable. Order book is pretty thin with offers reported at 1.6730-40 with some more stops abv there. Initial bids are noted at 1.6710-00 n more below with some stops touted below 1.6675. No U.K. eco. data are due out until Tue's key U.K. inflation data, so cable may follow intra-day swings in eur/usd.