Markets:
- Gold down $1 to $2029
- WTI crude up $1.05 to $78.63
- US 10-year yields up 1 bps to 4.31%
- S&P 500 up 9 points to 5078
- JPY leads, CAD lags
It was tough to find any movement in the FX space on Tuesday. The yen was stronger coming into US trade on a hotter-than-expected Japanese CPI number but that move slowly faded, in part due to some moderate US dollar bids, especially into the London fix.
The consumer confidence number was on the soft side but it was quickly shrugged off as flows dominated at month end. The market is waiting for higher-tier data to get a sense of where the US economy is going.
In commodities, gold was higher and oil was lower coming into US trade but those positions both reversed. Oil was helped out by a report saying OPEC could extend voluntary cuts when officials meet next week. Gold was dragged down but a slow, steady uptick in yields. Some of the rise was a concession for a 7-year sale but the auction actually stopped through, halting the move.
Despite higher oil prices, the Canadian dollar suffered. Domestic news flow was light, so it was a flow-driven move that boosted the pair 30 pips in North American trade.
The euro and pound finish up the day unchanged but there was some intraday movement, mostly around the fix. Cable hit a session low of 1.2661 only to rebound quickly to 1.2685. The euro range was even tighter as it probed 10 pips on either side of 1.0850.