EURUSD remains within Wed’s range

EURUSD, H1

The dollar was slightly up. following the in-line jobless claims outcome, and the stronger than expected Philly Fed index. However, EURUSD is virtually unchanged at 1.2375, while USDJPY edged up a few points to 107.40, before closing the hourly session at 107.30. Equity futures continue to indicate a modestly lower Wall Street open, while yields are marginally firmer.

U.S. initial jobless claims dipped 1k to 232k in the week ended April 14 after falling 9k to 233k in the prior week. That brought the 4-week moving average to 231.25k from 230k. Continuing claims declined 15k to 1,863k in the April 7 week following the 60k jump to 1,878k in the last week of March. This week’s jobless claims numbers take on a little more significance since they correspond to the BLS survey week.

U.S. Philly Fed manufacturing index, on the other hand,  edged up 0.9 points to 23.2 in April after sliding 3.5 points to 22.3 in March. The index is down from the 28.8 recent high from October, and the 35.5 two-year peak from May. The index has held solidly above 20, however, since November 2016. The employment component rose to 27.1 from 25.6, and is the highest since 30.7 in October, with the workweek rising to 21.6 from 12.8. But new orders dropped to 18.4 from 35.7. Price paid climbed to 56.4 from 42.6, with prices received at 29.8 from 20.7. The current data are better than expected, and the climb in the price may unnerve bond bulls further, though the declines in the 6-month outlooks, perhaps a function of trade war fears, could offset slightly.

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