020 7898 0500Elsewhere, yesterday we saw a continuation of the patterns seen across the global marketplace throughout last week. Growing worries over the situation in Washington increased demand for safe-haven assets, as news came out of the US that congress are no closer to reaching an agreement on the budget. The increase in demand for safer assets meant we saw the Swiss franc touch the 19-month highs it reached against the US dollar last week, although there is underlying uncertainty in Switzerland, with several banks being investigated for manipulating exchange rates and this uncertainty may somewhat limit the potential upside for the franc. We also saw the Japanese yen rally to five-week highs against the US dollar amid the market risk-averse market The Canadian dollar struggled, as worse-than forecast building permits data for August coincided with crude oil, Canada’s biggest export, dropping in futures prices by 0.5%. The traditionally higher-risk Canadian currency’s weakness was further exacerbated by the US government shutdown entering its second week. Overnight we saw strong business confidence figures from New Zealand which suggests the country rebounded last quarter. This morning, we saw inflation data and retail sales figures out of Switzerland and this evening we will have a speech by the central bank governor. Also on the agenda today we have monthly trade balance figures out of Canada. Get in touch with your trader for a live rate.
