Forexlive Americas FX news wrap: Yen sinks as bank worries fade
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Markets:
- Gold down $10 to $1963
- US 10-year yields down 1 bps to 3.56%
- CAD leads, JPY lags
- S&P 500 up 1.4%
- WTI crude oil down 32-cents to $72.88
In the simplest terms, it was a strong day for risk trades today and that meant yen selling, and ultimately heavy yen selling. US regional banks were generally treading water but it was another day without any of them failing and you have to assume that deposit outflows are slowing.
USD/JPY ends the day up 200 pips to 132.87 as it rapidly chews into the March swoon. It didn’t get much help from the Treasury complex where 2-year yields rose only 3 bps. It was the same across the board as the yen sank.
Otherwise, it wasn’t the straight-forward kind of ‘risk on’ trade you might expect. For one, the antipodeans struggled. AUD and NZD tried the upside early in US trading but both faded. On the other hand, the loonie was able to sustain a bid despite a reversal lower in crude prices.
Cable has generally tracked risk assets but didn’t today as it rose to 1.2360 early in Europe and then gave it all back to finish 20 pips lower. The euro also made a move higher only to fall back and finish flat on the day.
In terms of news, there was nothing meaningful to chew on but pending home sales were another housing data point that beat on the upside. The US auction probably helped USD/JPY as well but it was largely a news-free day of trading with quarter-end flows a much bigger part of the equation.