Forex news fore US trading on Dec 1, 2017:
- Flynn prepared to testify against President Trump - report
- Canada Nov net employment change 79.5k vs 10.0k exp
- Canada Q3 GDP +1.7% vs +1.6% expected
- November US ISM manufacturing index 58.2 vs 58.3 expected
- October US construction spending +1.4% vs +0.5% expected
- US final Markit Nov PMI 53.9 vs 54.0 expected
- Nov Markit Canada manufacturing PMI 54.4 vs 54.3 prior
- CFTC Commitments of Traders: Yen shorts lighten up
- Trump says reports of Rex Tillerson leaving are fake news
- US Nov vehicle sales 17.35m vs 17.50m expected
- Baker Hughes US oil rig count 749 vs 747 prior
- Atlanta Fed GDPNow rebounds
- McConnell: We have the votes on Senate tax bill
- Deutsche Bank now sees the Fed hiking four times in 2018
- Schumer says Democrats will work with Republicans to keep govt funded
- Fed's Kaplan says he's in favor of raising rates in the near future
- CME will launch Bitcoin futures on December 18
Markets:
- Gold up $5 to $1280
- S&P 500 down 5 points to 2642
- WTI crude oil up $0.95 to $58.36
- US 10-year yields down 4.8 bps to 2.36%
- CAD leads, GBP lags
The Canadian dollar was the early story after a blockbuster November jobs report and a slightly-better-than-expected GDP number. USD/CAD crashed down to 1.2770 from 1.2870 on the headlines and then continued to slide to 1.2692 late. It was basically a straight-line move with only minor retracements and it wiped out all of the gains in the pair this week.
The US dollar was extra-weak because of the news of Flynn's cooperation. The report that he will testify against Trump and/or Trump's family sent USD/JPY immediately down to 111.41 from 112.70. As some of the details and accusations grew clearer, the selling relented and the pair rebounded to 112.15.
Stocks were also torched on the initial headlines with the S&P 500 falling 40 points but it rebounded to close down just 5 points. The thinking is that Flynn has been nailed for minor offences during the time between the election and the inauguration, not for colluding during the election.
EUR/USD was at a session low of 1.1850 as the Trump news hit and then it jumped to 1.1933 but failed to break the European high in a sign that the pair wants to take a break. From there it drifted back to 1.1900.
Cable was choppy between 1.3450 and 1.3525 as it followed the Trump and economic news. overall, the pound took a break after a very strong week.
Have a great weekend.