Forex trading news for May 1, 2015, US edition:

  • ISM manufacturing index April 51.5 vs 52.0 expected
  • ISM's Holcomb says factory headwinds unlikely to persist
  • April Markit 2015 US manufacturing PMI final 54.1 vs 54.2 exp
  • March 2015 US construction spending -0.6% vs 0.5% exp
  • April 2015 University of Michigan consumer sentiment final 95.9 vs 96.0 exp
  • Fed's Mester says household balance sheet improvement supports spending
  • Williams says a monetary policy rule won't work for the Fed
  • April 2015 Canada RBC manufacturing PMI 49.0 vs 48.9 prior
  • US domestic vehicle sales 12.88m vs 13.40m exp
  • Gold down $5 to $1179
  • WTI crude down 45-cents to $59.17
  • US 10 year yields up 8 bps to 2.12%
  • S&P 500 up 23 points to 2108
  • USD leads, GBP lags

A new month brought a new wave of US dollar buying, stock market sentiment rebounded and Treasuries tumbled.

The euro finished lower but not until another squeeze higher in US trading. The continued squeeze blasted above 1.1275 and hit 1.1290 but the sellers quickly stepped in and it very quickly fell back to 1.1225 and then grinded lower to 1.1175 at the low.

Cable was ugly in a more than 2 cent fall. The data was soft and the selling started shortly afterwards. It was a one way move with bids at 1.5225 and 1.5200 easily giving way in a slide all the way to 1.1515. The selling finally stopped after London left and then it was a sideways chop with 1.1550 as the top.

USD/JPY took advantage of the data and popped to 120.25 from 120.00 but there was no appetite for buying above the big figure as the pair continues to be the least-volatile of the dollar trades.

Commodity FX was dumped after the numbers, even though they weren't particularly impressive. USD/CAD added a full cent to 1.2205 at the highs but the day was over quickly as it was all consolidation around 1.2175 from there.

AUD/USD busted through 0.7850 and down to 0.7803 on steady selling. The bears got a bit ahead of themselves with plenty of uncertainty still surrounding the RBA decision and it climbed back to 0.7850 at day's end.

Gold hits stops below $1178/75 shortly after US traders arrived but there was buying appetite just below $1170 and it slowly climbed back to $1178. Oil also fell down to $58.58, just below Thursday's lows but there were no fresh sellers there. More drills falling off line sparked a turnaround to $59.15.

Have a great weekend!