The Canadian dollar appears to be stuck -- at least for the time being. The currency opened in Toronto virtually unchanged from Tuesday’s closing level after an uneventful overnight trading session. It was a similar story for the bulk of the G-10 major currency pairs. Fortunately, sterling injected some excitement, but not until just before Toronto started trading.
Canadian dollar traders do not have any actionable economic data available for the rest of the week, leaving the currency pair vulnerable to offshore influences. U.S. President Trump addresses the United Nations today. The European Union Court decision about the EU’s €13-billion tax claim against Apple is also on tap. A favourable ruling for Apple would boost its stock price and lift other technology stocks in the process.
GBP/USD spiked to $1.2488 from $1.2444 after a headline flashed "U.K. Supreme Court rules that Boris Johnson's suspension of Parliament was illegal." Prices have since bounced between $1.2444 and $1.2472. Several opposition party leaders are demanding Johnson resign as prime minister. The ruling doesn’t change the fact that the EU needs to approve any new requests for a Brexit deadline extension or the lack of an alternative to the rejected Irish border backstop.
EUR/USD meandered inside a $1.0985-$1.0999 trading band. Traders ignored the German IFO Survey data. September Business Climate rose 94.6 compared to August’s 94.3 result. The Current Assessment was 98.5 vs previous 97.3. Those positive results were offset, to a degree, as expectations were weaker than expected. (Actual 90.8 vs forecast 91.8) German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said that "Germany is not in a recession" while admitting that growth dynamics had deteriorated.
Bank of Japan's governor provided a dose of weak verbal intervention in USD/JPY. According to Reuters, Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said: "As risks regarding overseas economy are heightening, we need to be increasingly vigilant to the chance the overseas slowdown could affect Japan’s economy and inflation." The comments and modestly firmer U.S. treasury yields underpinned USD/JPY.
AUD/USD traded firmer, supported by signs that U.S./China trade negotiations are progressing. China issued new waivers to domestic companies allowing for tariff-free U.S. soybean purchases. US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said China Vice Premier Liu He will be in the UJS next week for more discussions.
The New Zealand dollar underperformed its antipodean counterpart due to caution ahead of Wednesday’s Reserve Bank of New Zealand monetary policy meeting. The RBNZ is expected to leave the Overnight Cash Rate (OCR) unchanged at 1.00%., mostly because last months, 0.50% cut diminished the need for further action, in the short term.
Today’s U.S. economic data includes Case-Shiller Home Price Index and Consumer Confidence.
Rahim Madhavji is the President of KnightsbridgeFX.com, a Canadian currency exchange that provides better rates than the banks to Canadians