ForexLive European FX news wrap: Dollar catches a breather in light trading

Headlines:

• USD/JPY nudges back above 146.00 mark in back and forth trading today
• What are the main events for today?
• BOJ expected to raise rates again by the end of this year – poll
• Japan observes record number of foreign visitors in July
• US MBA mortgage applications w.e. 16 August -10.1% vs +16.8% prior

Markets:

• CAD leads, JPY lags on the day
• European equities higher; S&P 500 futures up 0.2%
• US 10-year yields down 0.4 bps to 3.814%
• Gold down 0.1% to $2,511.69
• WTI crude up 0.1% to $73.25
• Bitcoin flat at $59,408

The theme this week is waiting on Thursday and today is no exception. It was once again another quiet session in Europe and in terms of news flow, this has arguably been the quietest week so far this year.

And in terms of market action, it was also rather slow. The dollar is keeping steadier after having fallen in the past two days. That’s not leaving much to work with, as major currencies stay tightly bound for the most part.

USD/JPY remains the most volatile among dollar pairs, with it falling to 144.92 in Asia before rebounding to around 146.00 currently.

Besides that, other major currencies aren’t doing much but the dollar remains vulnerable to further declines.

In the equities space, US indices snapped a run of eight straight day of gains yesterday. But US futures are holding just a touch higher as investors look to resume the upside run after the start of August hiccup.

The FOMC meeting minutes will be one to watch later in US trading. That aside, there might not be much until we get to trading tomorrow.

This article was written by Justin Low at www.forexlive.com.