(0830 ET/1230 GMT) US w/e initial jobless claims, 274k eyed; last 277k.
(0830 ET/1230 GMT) Canada's new housing Price.
(0900 ET/1300 GMT) Mexico's Annual Inflation.
Key Events Ahead
(0900 ET/1300 GMT) St Louis Fed Bullard speech at St Louis Fed conference.
(1300 ET/1700 GMT) Minny Fed Kocherlakota speech in Minnesota.
(1400 ET/1800 GMT) FOMC September meeting minutes.
(1530 ET/1930 GMT) SF Fed Williams speech in Spokane, Washington.
FX Recap
USD: The dollar dropped to $1.13 per euro for the first time in a week as investors were nervousness about the rate hike clues from U.S. Fed. The dollar slipped 0.2 percent to 119.78 yen, inching away from this week's high of 120.57 yen set on Tuesday. By 0800 GMT, the euro was up 0.5 percent to $1.1290. Against a basket of major currencies, the dollar last traded at 95.461.
EUR/USD: European currency pushed higher on Thursday, as the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Federal Reserve take centre stage today. The euro edged 0.66% higher to $1.1314, hovering at its daily highs. The euro area's largest economy booked a lower trade surplus in August compared with the previous month, fresh data showed on Thursday. Germany's foreign trade, one of the components of the country's current account, generated a non-seasonally adjusted surplus of €15.3 billion in the reported period, up from the €25.0 billion registered in the previous month. It made intraday high at 1.1314 and low at 1.1234 levels. Initial support is seen around at 1.1015 and resistance at 1.1560 levels. Option expiries are at 1.1150-55 (380M), 1.1400 (413M).
USD/JPY: Pair remains little affected by the poor datasets from Japan released earlier on the day. Core machine orders dropped 3.5%, below expectations for an increase of 3.5%. Trade balance came in at a deficit of 326.1 billion yen, following the 108.0 billion yen shortfall in the previous month. Pair made intraday high at 120.10 and low at 119.61 levels. Initial resistance is seen at 123.20 and support is seen at 118.42 levels. Option expiries are at 119.50 (1.1BLN), 119.75 (1.1BLN), 120.00 (860M), 120.20 (1BLN), 121.00 (1BLN).
GBP/USD: Sterling erased some of its earlier gains against the US dollar after the Bank of England decided to sit on interest rates in October. Pair slipped 0.3% after the BOE policy announcement and on dovish UK CPI forecast via MPC minutes. BoE policymakers left the main refinancing rate at 0.5% and the QE amount remained at £375 billion. Meanwhile, the Monetary Policy Committee's (MPC) vote composition on the interest rate also remained unchanged at 8-1, with just Ian McCafferty dissenting again and voting in favour of a rate hike, the document showed. Pair made intraday high at 1.5372 and low at 1.5297 levels. Initial support is seen at 1.5107 and resistance is seen around 1.5725 levels.
NZD/USD: The New Zealand dollar held at $0.6605, having gained more than 1 percent on Wednesday when it peaked at $0.6647. Euro dropped to NZ$1.7000. Antipodeans slipped on profit-taking after recording fresh multi-week highs on Wednesday. Kiwi consolidates after the recent bullish streak and might be gathering pace for further upside. It made intraday high at 0.6629 and low at 0.6585 levels. In addition, risk-on appetite flourished as traders believed in a postponed interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve (Fed), following a mediocre non-farm payrolls update in September. Initial support is seen at 0.6195 and resistance at 0.6605 levels.
AUD/USD: The Australian and New Zealand dollars hovered near seven-week peaks against the euro and held gains on the U.S. dollar as risk appetite improved. The Australian dollar stood at $0.7201, having popped back above 72 cents for the first time since mid-September. Resistance is found at a double top near $0.7280. The euro skidded to its lowest since late August at A$1.5507 to be last at A$1.5622. The Australian dollar declined on lower oil prices and investors cashing in profits, after the AUD/USD nearly hit a one-month high in the previous session. US dollar weakness and better-than-expected Chinese data were the two main drivers of the rally this week, both of which were net positive for commodities. Pair made intraday high at 0.7215 levels and low around 0.7165 levels. Initial support is seen at 0.6908 and resistance at 0.7245 levels.
Equities Recap
Global stocks traded just off 3-week highs on Thursday after unexpected weak trade and machinery orders data from Germany and Japan hinted a stalling momentum of some of the world's biggest economies.
The pan-European FTSEEurofirst 300 index wobbled, managing to claw back some losses after falling about 0.4 pct. UK'S FTSE fell 0.2 pct, German shares opened half a pct lower though investors stepped in to buy, boosting the market in early trades, France's CAC40 was down 0.2 pct.
Tokyo's Nikkei average closed down 0.99 pct at 18,141.17, Chinese shares were up 3 pct, playing catch-up with the past week's global rally. HK'S Hang Seng index closed down 0.7 pct at 22,354.91 points. MSCI's all-country equity index was unchanged after rebounding 7 pct since last Friday when weak U.S. jobs data led to expectationson Fed's interest rate hike, MSCI's equity index dropped 0.6 pct.
Commodities Recap
Oil prices pushed higher by a weaker dollar, Brent crude futures bounced more than 1 pct to almost $52 per dollar, edging back towards one-week highs. Brent crude oil futures climbed 56 cents to $51.89 a barrel by noon, having touched a one-month high of $53.15 on Wednesday. U.S. crude futures jumped 42 cents to $48.23 a barrel.
Gold dropped from near 2-week highs on Thursday, as Chinese investors sold the precious metals to take profits on return from a week-long holiday. Spot gold eased 0.3 pct to $1,142 an ounce. The metal had climbed to $1,153.30 in the previous session, its highest since Sept. 24, before closing 0.1 pct lower as the dollar gained.
Treasuries Recap
U.S. 10-year treasury yields stood at 2.0403, down 0.02 pct, German bund futures opened 28 ticks higher at 156.45.
JGB prices closed the day narrowly mixed, with the new 30-yr JGBs firmer on dealers' short-covering after today's 30-yr auction. The results of today's monthly JPY800bn 30-yr JGB auction to re-open the current 30s were better than expected, as dealers covered their short positions aggressively before the BoJ will buy the new 30s tomorrow under its massive JGB purchase program.
UK Gilts opened 23 ticks higher than the settlement of 118.51, as expected as core markets underpinned ahead of a busy day in terms of Central Bank event risk. Buyers are posing an early test on support on 10-year cash yields from former highs around 1.79%.
New Zealand government bonds eased, sending yields as much as 6.5 basis points higher at the long end of the curve. Australian government bond futures fell deeper in the red, with the 3-year bond contract off 3 ticks at 98.150. The 10-year contract slipped 4.5 ticks to 97.2950, leading to a bearish flattening of the curve.
