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Americas Roundup: Dollar falls on weak U.S. data, Gold extends gains, Wall Street ends little changed, US crude pares gains, but lingers near 2-year high-November 23rd 2017

Market Roundup

• Fed policymakers say rate increase likely warranted soon –minutes.

• The meeting included broad inflation debate, with a few participants saying rate hike should be deferred until data showed inflation was clearly on a path to Fed's 2 percent target –minutes.

• US Oct Durable goods, -1.2%, 0.3% forecast, 2.0% previous 2.2% revised.

• US Oct Durables Ex-Transport, 0.4%, 0.5% forecast, 0.7% previous 1.1% revised.

• US Nov 18 w/e Initial Jobless claims, 239k, 240k forecast, 249k previous 252k revised.

• US Nov 11 w/e Continued Jobless claims, 1.904 mln, 1.882 mln forecast, 1.860 mln 1.868 mln.

• US Nov 18 w/e Jobless claims 4-wk Avg, 239.75k, 237.75k forecast, 238.50k revised.

• US Nov U Mich Sentiment final, 98.5, 98.0 forecast, 97.8 previous.

• US Nov 17 w/e MBA Mortgage Application, 0.1%, 3.1% previous.

• UK sees weak growth, more borrowing, but Hammond says will spend.

• ECB hopes to go into policy hibernation, sources say.

• German Social Democrats face pressure over coalition talks.

• Summit on eurozone future in Dec still on despite no German govt -Tusk

Looking Ahead - Economic Data (GMT)

• 21:45 New Zealand Q3 Retail sales volumes q/q, 2.00% previous

• 21:45 New Zealand Q3 Retail quarterly vs year ago, 5.4% previous

Looking Ahead - Events, Other Releases (GMT)

• 08:35 ECB Chief Economist Peter Praet speaks in Luxembourg

• 18:15 ECB Executive Board Member Benoit Coeure speaks in Paris

Currency Summaries

EUR/USD is likely to find support at 1.1711 levels and currently trading at 1.1796 levels. The pair has made session high at 1.1798 and hit lows at 1.1738 levels. The euro edged higher against the greenback for a second consecutive day on Wednesday as investors adjusted positions on bets that the German coalition collapse will not have any impact on a brightening outlook for the European economy. The dollar index against a basket of six major currencies was down 0.7percent at 93.29.The index fell back from a one-week high of 94.165 overnight after a rally triggered earlier this week by a sagging euro. With outgoing U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen not offering any firm clues on where monetary policy in the world's biggest economy is headed, the dollar's near-term outlook remained uncertain. Earlier in the US session data showed that new orders for key U.S.-made capital goods unexpectedly fell in October after three straight months of hefty gains, but a sustained increase in shipments pointed to strong momentum in the economy as the year winds down. The euro rose 0.67 percent on Wednesday to $1.1817 against the dollar and not far away from a one-month high of $1.1862 hit last Wednesday.

GBP/USD is supported in the range of 1.3208 levels and currently trading at 1.3320 levels. It reached session high at 1.3322 and dropped to session low at 1.3254 levels. Sterling initially declined against the dollar on Wednesday but recovered to trade higher, with traders seeing little even in downward growth forecasts that dramatically changed the picture for the economy. Brexit-bound Britain slashed its economic growth forecasts and ramped up its borrowing plans going into the 2020s, but finance minister Philip Hammond announced a number of spending steps aimed at winning back voters. Hammond was under heavy pressure to use his budget statement on Wednesday to turn around the fortunes of Prime Minister Theresa May. Some lawmakers, still smarting from an election mauling in June, had even called on May to fire him for his cautious approach to Brexit and to the public finances. Despite that message, Britain's official budget watchdog said the spending plans for the next two years were a "significant giveaway". Britain is set to borrow 29.1 billion pounds more by the end of the 2021/22 tax year than it expected eight months ago. Sterling initially fell as Hammond announced the gloomy forecasts for the economy which contrast with stronger growth in many other rich nations but rose later to hit a three-week high against the U.S. dollar.

USD/CAD is supported at 1.2711 levels and is trading at 1.2732 levels. It has made session high at 1.2758 and lows at 1.2714 levels. The Canadian dollar strengthened against its U.S. counterpart on Wednesday as oil prices climbed and the greenback fell broadly after weaker-than-expected U.S. durable goods orders. The price of U.S. crude oil reached $58 a barrel for the first time since July 2015 as a major pipeline cut Canadian crude flows to the United States. The U.S. dollar fell against a basket of major currencies after data showed new orders for U.S. made capital goods unexpectedly fell in October. The loonie has been pressured recently by concern that an uncertain outlook for the North American Free Trade Agreement will stall Bank of Canada interest rate hikes. The United States, Mexico and Canada failed to resolve any major differences in a fifth round of talks to rework the NAFTA trade deal, drawing a swift complaint from the Trump administration on Tuesday that the lack of progress could spell doom. The Canadian dollar was trading at C$1.2700 to the greenback, up 0.6 percent. The currency traded in a narrow range of C$1.2700 to C$1.2788. On Tuesday, it touched a nearly three-week low at C$1.2837.

USD/JPY is supported around 111.00 levels and currently trading at 111.20 levels. It peaked to hit session high at 112.05 and made session lows at 111.10 levels. The U.S. dollar declined its lowest level in more than a month against the Japanese yen after the release of weaker-than-expected U.S. data and inflation expectations. New orders for U.S.-made capital goods unexpectedly fell in October after three straight months of strong gains and a measure of goods orders that strips out volatile components had its biggest drop since September 2016. The dollar fell to 111.20 yen, its lowest since Sept. 26. Against the Swiss franc, the dollar fell to its lowest since Oct. 20, hitting 0.9827 franc. The dollar also was weighed by technical trading factors, as speculators have begun to reverse bearish bets that the yen will depreciate as the year moves towards a close. Additionally, the dollar/yen currency pair fell below the 38.2 percent Fibonacci retracement level for 2017, an important indicator that prompts technical traders to move positions. Last week, speculators' net short position in the yen grew to its largest since December 2013 as traders continued to bet that the yen would fall.

Equities Recap

European shares slipped after two days of gains on Wednesday, led by the, which was hit by a bounce in the euro as well as deadlock in attempts to form a new German government.

UK's benchmark FTSE 100 closed flat, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 ended the day down by 0.25 percent, Germany's Dax ended down by 1.2 percent, France’s CAC finished the day down by 0.2 percent.

U.S. stocks were little changed on Wednesday with telecom services shares among the biggest movers, while energy sector also rose tracking gains in crude oil.

Dow Jones closed down by 0. 27 percent, S&P 500 ended down 0.08 percent, Nasdaq finished the day up by 0.06 percent.

Treasuries Recap 

U.S. Treasury prices gained slightly after the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting on Wednesday affirmed market expectations that it will hike rates in December, with trading volumes subdued before Thursday’s Thanksgiving holiday.

Benchmark 10-year notes gained 10/32 in price to yield 2.32 percent, down from 2.36 percent on Tuesday.

The yield curve between two-year notes and 10-year notes held near 10-year lows at 58.5 basis points, after falling to 57.4 basis points on Tuesday, the flattest level since late 2007.

Commodities Recap

Gold prices rose on Wednesday as weaker-than-expected U.S. data pushed the dollar lower before the release of minutes from the latest Federal Reserve meeting that could hint at the pace of future interest rate rises.

Spot gold was up 0.9 percent at $1,292.32 an ounce by 1:38 p.m. EST (1838 GMT), while U.S. gold futures for December delivery settled up $10.50, or 0.8 percent, at $1,292.20 per ounce.

Oil pared gains on Wednesday after U.S. crude stockpiles fell less than an industry group's expectations, but remained near a two-year high as the shutdown of one of the largest crude pipelines from Canada cut supply to the United States.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were trading at $57.83, up $1, or 1.8 percent after weekly government data showed crude inventories fell 1.9 million barrels.

Brent crude rose 55 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $63.12 per barrel, after earlier trading as high as $63.39.

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