Market Roundup
• Spokeswoman for British PM May: position on invoking article 50 has not changed.
• Britain not to trigger EU divorce before the end of year - Downing Street.
• Canada June retail sales unexpectedly fall 0.1 pct.
• Canada CPI -0.2% vs expected -0.1%; core flat, +2.1% y/y as expected.
• China blasts Australian blocking of grid sale; door open to locals.
• RBS to charge some British corporate customers negative rates.
• Brazil federal tax revenues down 5.8 pct in July.
• Trump campaign chairman Manafort resigns.
• Foreign banks storm dollar market in search of cheaper funding.
Looking Ahead - Economic Data (GMT)
• No Significant Data
Looking Ahead - Events, Other Releases (GMT)
• No Significant Events
Currency Summaries
EUR/USD is likely to find support at 1.1248 levels and currently trading at 1.1331 levels. The pair has made session high at 1.1331 and hit lows at 1.1309 levels. The euro declined against US dollar on Friday as dollar rebounded from nearly eight-week lows after a top Federal Reserve official joined a growing chorus signaling support for a U.S. interest rate hike in coming months. There have been mixed signals this week from Federal Reserve policymakers, which left the market anticipating more direction at next week's annual meeting of central bankers from around the world in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. At that gathering Fed Chair Janet Yellen is seen likely to cement expectations for a slow pace of rate increases. The euro was last down 0.3 percent against the dollar at $1.1334 below a nearly eight-week high of $1.1365 touched Thursday. The dollar was up 0.5 percent against the Swiss franc at 0.9589 franc after hitting a low of 0.9532 Thursday.
GBP/USD is supported in the range of 1.2977 currently trading at 1.3084 levels. It reached session high at 1.3092 and hit low at 1.3020 levels. Sterling declined against dollar on Friday as the currency pair was dragged down on speculation that Britain could formally begin the process of leaving the European Union early next year. However, the pound was on track for its best weekly performance in a month after a slew of robust data drove speculators to trim record high bets against the British pound. Data this week covering the month following Britain's June 23 referendum to leave the EU has surprised on the upside, with July consumer prices, retail sales and jobless claims all coming in better than expected. Sterling fell more than 1 percent to the day's low of $1.3023, having hit a two-week high of $1.3186 on Thursday. It recovered a tad and was last trading at $1.3077, still down 0.8 percent.
USD/CAD is supported at 1.2760 levels and is trading at 1.2860 levels. It has made session high at 1.2888 and lows at 1.2837 levels. The Canadian dollar weakened against its U.S. counterpart on Friday after Canadian retail sales data showed weaker-than-expected figures, although some losses were pared as oil prices rose. Canadian retail sales unexpectedly fell 0.1 percent in June on weaker sales of food and alcohol, while fewer consumers shopped at general merchandise stores, data from Statistics Canada showed. In a separate report, Canada's annual inflation rate cooled as expected in July to 1.3 percent from June's 1.5 percent rate, pulled down by cheaper gasoline prices. Annual core inflation was more robust at 2.1 percent. U.S. crude prices were up 0.21 percent at $48.32 a barrel, supported by a lift in sentiment over talks next month on a possible output freeze. The Canadian dollar was last trading at C$1.2856 to the greenback, or 77.78 U.S. cents, weaker than Thursday's close of C$1.2771, or 78.30 U.S. cents.
AUD/USD is supported around 0.7590 levels and currently trading at 0.7624 levels. It hit session high at 0.7627 and made session lows at 0.7598 levels. The Australian dollar slipped lower against U.S. dollar on Friday after ratings agency Moody's cut the outlook on Australian banks to negative, attracting sellers in this pair. The Australian dollar dropped 0.7 percent to $0.7622, pulling away from a recent three-week peak of $0.7760. The Antipodean currency attracted sellers after news broke out that Moody's was considering cutting the ratings of Australia's major banks due to sluggish profit growth. Also undermining the currency was euro buying after stops were tripped above A$1.4800. The euro speed up to A$1.4827, having bounced four cents since a low touched last week. The Aussie was on track for a loss of 0.7 percent for the week, having erased earlier gains made on speculation the U.S. Federal Reserve is in no rush to raise interest rates.
Equities Recap
European stock markets fell on Friday in their worst weekly loss since the middle of June, with storage tank group Vopak slumping after its results while major bank stocks also weakened.
UK's benchmark FTSE 100 closed down by 0.2 percent, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 ended the day down by 0.71 percent, Germany's Dax ended down by 0.5 percent, France’s CAC finished the day down by 0.8 percent.
U.S. stocks edged lower late Friday afternoon, led by declines in utility shares as investors weighed prospects for an interest rate increase in the coming months.
Dow Jones closed down by 0.25 percent, S&P 500 ended down by 0.15 percent, Nasdaq finished the day down by 0.05 percent.
Treasuries Recap
U.S. Treasury prices fell on Friday as traders booked profits in advance of government debt auctions next week and a marquee annual meeting of global central bankers at which Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen is scheduled to speak.
Benchmark 10-year Treasury notes were down 13/32 in price for a yield of 1.582 percent, up 5 basis points from late on Thursday, while the 30-year bond was 19/32 lower to yield 2.288 percent, up 3 basis points.
The yield on two-year Treasury notes, which are sensitive to traders' views on Fed policy, rose 4.5 basis points to 0.750 percent.
Commodities Recap
Oil prices settled steady to higher on Friday, with U.S. crude posting its biggest weekly gain since March after surging nearly 25 percent in a little over two weeks, a rally analysts cautioned was not justified by fundamentals.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude settled up 30 cents, or 0.6 percent, at $48.22 a barrel after reaching $48.75, its highest since July 5.
Brent crude closed just a penny lower at $50.88 a barrel, after scaling a two-month high at $51.22. Brent rose 8 percent on the week, rising for a third week in a row.
Gold fell more than 1 percent on Friday, snapping a four-day streak of gains following conflicting signals from U.S. Federal Reserve officials on the timing of a possible rate hike, but was still on track for its second straight week higher.
Spot gold fell as much as 1.5 percent to a session low of $1,337.37 per ounce,paring losses by 2:57 p.m. EDT (1857 GMT) when it was down 0.7 pct at $1,342.62. U.S. gold settled down 0.8 percent at $1,346.2 per ounce.
