- Positive risk sentiment starting to fade.
- Oil prices under pressure
- US dollar opens on mixed note, JPY and CHF underperform.
USDCAD snapshot open 1.3696-00, overnight range 1.3680-1.3735, close 1.3721, WTI $69.47, Gold $1932.32
The Canadian dollar is whip-sawing in a 1.3660-1.3786 range. The currency pair is unable to break above resistance or below support due to the ebb and flow of global risk sentiment ahead of Tuesday’s FOMC meeting.
Global risk sentiment took a turn for the better yesterday after the Swiss National Bank stepped up and offered $54 billion of support for the beleaguered Credit Suisse bank. Later in the day, a consortium of eleven major US banking giants including JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup Inc and Wells Fargo stepped up to deposit $5 billion apiece into accounts at First Republic Bank. The actions ease immediate concerns failed to address similar issues at other US commercial banks.
Even so, it was good news for stock markets. The S&P 500 index rallied and closed with a 1.76% gain, which erased all its losses since the onset of the Silicon Valley Bank crisis.
It was good news for global equity indexes as well. The major Asian indexes finished in positive territory with Japan’s Nikkei 225 index rising 1.20% and Australia’s ASX 200 index gaining 0.42%. European bourses rallied as well led by a 1.07% gain in the UK FTSE 100.
Traders are a little more cautious in NY with S&P 500 futures trading down 0.24%, while 5he US 10-year yield has slipped to 3.50% from 3.58% yesterday.
EURUSD rebounded from its post-ECB low of 1.0552 and climbed to 1.0669 in early European trading, before sliding to 1.0629 in NY. The ECB hiked rates 50 bps despite questions around the European banking system after Credit Suisse needing a bail-out.
GBPUSD traded in a 1.2104-1.2175 range, mirroring the EURUSD price action and general global risk sentiment. Analysts expect the BoE to raise rates 25 bps next week although things could change depending upon the results of Wednesday’s inflation report.
USDJPY traded in a 132.76-133.74 range overnight and is sitting at 133.12 in NY. Prices are supported by the rise in the US 10-year Treasury yield from 3.369% yesterday to 3.52% in NY today but gains are limited to lingering safe-haven demand for yen.
AUDUSD rode the risk rally bus and climbed from 0.6651 to 0.6723 overnight before dipping down to 0.6695 in NY.
Canada Raw Materials and Capacity Utilization data is on tap but it won’t impact USDCAD trading.
