– Bank of England leaves rates unchanged at 5.25%, as expected.
– Bank of Canada’s quarterly FSR report on tap.
– USD dollar opens mixed, but little changed in quiet overnight session.
USDCAD: open 1.3729, overnight range 1.3718-1.3738, close 1.3722, WTI $79.48, Gold, $2307.44
The Canadian dollar consolidated recent losses and traded very quietly overnight. It was not alone. The major G-10 currencies were very subdued due to a mix of holidays in Europe and a dearth of actionable economic data.
West Texas Intermediate prices hung on to yesterday’s gains and traded in a $79.14-$79.80 range supported by geopolitical issues and the US Energy Information Administration reporting that US crude inventories fell by 1.36 million barrels in the preceding week.
The Bank of Canada’s quarterly Financial System Review (FSR) is not usually a market-mover, and it won’t be today. That’s unless Governor Tiff Macklem does drop any monetary policy bombs in his press conference.
The commodity currency bloc (AUD, NZD, and CAD) did not get any benefit from China’s release of its monthly trade report. China’s trade surplus increased to $72.358b but it was below expectations. Import gains sharply outpaced exports which underscores ongoing growth concerns.
EURUSD is at the bottom of its 1.0724-1.0758 band. The price pressure stems from contrasting ECB and Fed interest rate outlooks. The Fed is on hold while the ECB is preparing to ease. Volumes are lower than usual due to holidays.
GBPUSD dropped to 1.2448 on the heels of the BoE monetary policy announcement after drifting in a 1.2470-1.2502 range overnight. The 7-2 vote to leave rates unchanged at 5.25 also opened the door to a June 20 rate cut. Governor Andrew Bailey coyly said that a June rate cut is not ruled out, but neither is it a fait accompli.
USDJPY traded higher in a 155.16-155.96 range. The Bank of Japan released its Summary of Opinions, but the report did not reveal any fresh insight and was therefore ignored. The gains were underpinned by the steady to firm US 10-year Treasury yield which climbed to 4.518% from 4.47% yesterday.
AUDUSD traded sideways in a 0.6565-0.6587 band. Tuesday’s somewhat dovish RBA meeting result is limiting gains as is the strong US dollar.
US weekly jobless claims are expected to rise by 2,000 to 210,000.